good morning. two for two. mitt romney cruises to victory in new hampshire's presidential primary with a strong showing among the state's most conservative voters. this morning, all of his rivals vow to stay in the race. is that good news or bad for the gop front-runner? we'll ask him wn he joins us. motive -- greed? a man under arrest charged with murdering a florida doctor and his wife in one of tampa's most exclusive neighborhoods. the suspect worked for the couple. and buried. an alaska town with 15 feet of snow and another storm on the

way. residents there put out an urgent call for shovels today, residents there put out an urgent call for shovels today, wednesday, january 11, 2012. captions paid for by nbc-universal television good morning. welcome to "today" on a wednesday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> i'm ann curry. good morning, everybody. with the victory in new hampshire last night mitt romney become it is first nonincumbent candidate to win there and the iowa caucuses. >> we'll get to the results now. romney took home 39% of the vote. ron paul in second with 23%. jon huntsman bet a lot on new hampshire and finished third with 17%. newt gingrich, rick santorum and rick perry rounded out the

field. romney sounded like a man ready to take on president obama in the general election. we'll talk about that straight ahead. >> lots to get to there. also ahead, the search is on for a man who forced a 73-year-old grandmother to walk into a bank in arkansas wearing what she thought was an ankle bomb. she was told the only way to keep it from going off was to empty out her account. she survived and we'll hear from her this morning. >> later on, more of the one on one interview with ricky gervais. what was he like as a child? how does he define success and what does he say to people who are offended by his jokes? his answers, a little bit later on. >> should be interesting. we begin with mitt romney's decisive victory in the new hampshire gop primary. savannah guthrie is in manchester for us this morning. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, ann. new hampshire may be known for upending conventional wisdom but there were no surprises here this time. despite a convincing win for mitt romney, the first in the

nation primary didn't narrow the field. the rest of the five candidates are hanging on today hoping to get traction down south when south carolina votes ten days from now. >> thank you, new hampshire! tonight we made history. [ cheers ] >> reporter: clinching the historic one-two sweep of early states, mitt romney unveiled a tough new attack on president obama. >> this president has enacted job-killing regulations. i will eliminate them. he lost our aaa credit rating, i will restore it. he passed obamacare. i'll repeal it. my highest priority as president is worrying about your job, not saving my own. >> reporter: romney scolded his republican rivals who in the final days of the race here savaged him as a job-killing corporate villain. >> president obama wants to put free enterprise on trial. in the last few days we have seen desperate republicans join forces with him.

[ booing ] >> this is such a mistake for our party. >> reporter: finishing second to romney -- >> we are nibbling at his heels. [ cheers ] >> reporter: ron paul taunted nay sayers dismissing his candidacy. >> i have to chuckle when they describe you and me as being dangerous! [ cheers ] >> we are dangerous to the status quo of this country. we're in the hunt. >> reporter: jon huntsman tried to put the best face on a disappointing finish. >> i'd say third place is a ticket to ride, ladies and gentlemen. >> reporter: he skipped iowa to campaign exclusively in new hampshire. >> hello, south carolina! >> reporter: but argues he can go on. balting for fourth place, newt gingrich and rick santorum gave duelling speeches. rick santorum acknowledging his iowa momentum couldn't propel him past romney's huge

advantages here. >> for someone who wants to think this race could be over in one or two states, states that have been the backyard and the home of a certain candidate, we have an opportunity to be the true conservative. >> this campaign is going to go on. >> reporter: gingrich, with an ever sharper attack against romney, argued he's the one who can take on the president. >> i believe it will take someone who is capable of debating barack obama face to face, delivering the conservative message, winning the argument in order to overcome his billion dollar machine. i will do everything i can to win the opportunity to represent you this fall in debating and then defeating barack obama. thank you, good luck and god bless. >> reporter: rick perry, the texas governor skipped new hampshire and has been in south carolina. he says the race is still wide open. he's been ripping romney for what he calls vulture

capitalism. there is a staggering amount of money spent in the last few days with huge amounts of tv time and the next states devote mitt romney made about $6 million in ad buys in south carolina and florida and the super pac packing newt gingrich is spending more than $3 million on ads in south carolina. matt? >> savannah guthrie, thank you very much. mitt romney is with us now from manchester, new hampshire. governor, good morning and congratulations. >> thank you, matt. >> you know, the analysts are saying this morning, governor, that thing went about as well as they could have gone for you in new hampshire. you won by double digits. ron paul came in second which was a lot better for your campaign than any of the other candidates coming in second. you won early in the evening so you got to make a big speech during the prime hours of coverage, and a lot of conservatives seemed to warm up to you. as many as 42% of the people who voted and labeled themselves as

conservative. what else did i leave out? >> i'll tell you, it was a great start, matt. there's no question. but with a slim victory in iowa compounded with a big victory in new hampshire, i have a good start. i have an uphill climb in south carolina ahead of me. it could not have worked better last night. that was as big a gift as the people of new hampshire could give us. >> how about this? is it a bigger plus that after disappointing finishes, none of your gop rivals is dropping out of the race. so there will be no consolidation of support around one other conservative candidate. they are going to continue to split the vote. isn't that a huge plus for your campaign? >> well, you're probably right. the more candidates there are, perhaps the better at this stage. but i take what's given to me, and i was pleased that in new hampshire, as you indicated, the people who call themselves conservative or very conservative supported me by a pretty solid majority. >> while the other candidates

haven't united around one candida candidate, they have seemed to unite around a way to attack you. that is that they are going after your record as a businessman, as a venture capitalist, your time as ceo of bane capital. they are using words like predator, raider and vulture. you said last night, quote, some desperate republicans, end quote, were attacking the notion of success itself. you said, quote, this is such a mistake for our party and our nation, the country already has a leader who divides us with the bitter politics of envy. do you think some of your opponents have unwittingly turned their backs on the conservative principles that have put them in this position in the first place by attacking the free enterprise system? >> i think you're absolutely right, matt. i think it's something we expected to come from president obama. we didn't expect that newt gingrich and rick perry would become the witnesses for his prosecution, if you will. i don't think it's helped them.

for them to be attacking free enterprise and suggest that people should have a limit to how much they can make in their success is something which the democrats have been talking about for years. >> is so they are turning their back on core republican principles for their own political ambition? >> well, think they think it will be an effective way to garner support. so far it's proven that hasn't worked. >> let me ask you about the choice of words last night when you said with we already have a leader who divides us with the bitter politics of envy. i'm curious about the word envy. did you suggest that anyone who questions the policies and practices of wall street and financial institutions, anyone who has questions about the distribution of wealth and power in this country is envious? is it about jealousy or fairness? >> you know, i think it's about envy. i think it's about class warfare. when you have a president encouraging the idea of dividing

america based on 99% versus 1% and those people who have been most successful are in the 1% you have opened up a wave of approach in this country which is entirely i consistent with the concept of one nation under god. i believe in the final analysis, the american people with will reject it. >> aren't there questions about the distribution of wealth without it being seen as envy? >> i think it's fine to talk about those things in quiet rooms and tax policy and the like. but the president made it part of his campaign rally. everywhere he goes we hear him talking about millionaires, billionaires, executives and wall street. it's an envy-oriented, attack-oriented approach and i think it will fail. >> let's look at math for a second. it's impsible for any candidate to secure the nomination until april. if your opponents continue these kinds of withering attacks against you, can you survive

until april without entering the general election as a dangerously wounded candidate? >> well, i actually think, matt, if you can't handle the relatively modest heat coming from republican candidates now you would be in trouble going up against president obama and his decision to put aside the federal campaign election figures and instead put in $1 billion of attack effort. look, i have to be able to handle this or i won't be able to handle president obama. this is a good warm-up. >> governor mitt romney who had a big day in new hampshire tuesday. thanks for joining us. >> thanks, matt. good to be with with you. >> now here's ann. >> all right, matt. thank you. david gregory is moderator of "meet the press" and chuck todd is the political director and white house correspondent. good morning to you both. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> you don't completely agree on the takeaway of mitt romney's win in new hampshire. before we get to that let's talk about the numbers.

what percentage of conservatives have they favored romney in new hampshire. why are conservatives already moving towards mitt romney, chuck? >> well, i would be careful here. the person that identifies themselves as conservative in new hampshire is different from the conservative in south carolina or florida. when you split that conservative vote in half and the very conservative vote, again, that's where romney was neck and neck with rick santorum inside the exit polls. so i would just take it with a grain of salt because the conservative voter. half the electorate in new hampshire would call themselves moderate or liberal. you won't see that, number one. number two, the person who describes thems as conservative in new hampshire isn't conservative. they describe themselves as moderate on social issues. >> interesting, chuck, thank you. david, i understand you believe romney is moving ahead with a

huge head of steam. i will let you make your cases. david? >> we're arguing different sides of the coin. if you sat mitt romney down before the campaign and said, you know, governor romney you have to do several things to get the nomination. uh you have to win in iowa, check. you have to win in new hampshire and you have to win big. he's done that as well. you have to prevail over the conservative alternative. he's doing that because there is no conservative alternative. the field is still splintered. and you have to win the electability vote in iowa and new hampshire that was the most important factor, ann. mitt romney comes out ahead in both states. >> all right, chuck. >> david's right. we're making the same argument. i would say we haven't seen mitt romney win yet. conservatives put him over the top. it was a place where the conservative vote is dominated. that's the south carolina and florida.

there is no doubt he did exactly what he wanted out of here in new hampshire. with but this was home turf. i had somebody tweet me. it's as if this is a best of five series. mitt romney is up two games to none, but now it's all road trips. south carolina and florida, when it comes to that. let's see how he does there and see what happens when he has a sustained attack of negative ads on tv. that hasn't happened yet. that will happen in south carolina. what happens when conservatives do consolidate, if they do? >> that's right. he's called what happened so far modest heat. we'll see what happens next with south carolina looming. david gregory, chuck todd, always a pleasure. >> thank you. >> natalie at the news desk has the headlines of the morning. good morning. >> good morning, matt and ann. good morning, everyone. we begin with violence in tehran overnight as an iranian university professor working on a key nuclear facility there was killed in a targeted bombing. nbc's al irgs aruzzi has more. good morning.

>> reporter: good morning, natalie. an iranian scientist worked in a key nuclear facility and was killed this morning. tehran said it is part of a widening campaign by the west aimed at crippling their nuclear program. he was a director of the natanz nuclear facility in iran and was killed when two assailants on motorcycles attached magnetic bombs to his car. this morning's attack bore the same hallmarks as previous attacks. iran says israel and the united states are behind the attacks and iran's nuclear path is irreversible. natalie? >> thank you. the u.s. has fired its first drone strike into pakistan since november, killing four people. there was an unofficial lull in the unmanned air strikes following a drone that killed

pakistani troops. the first lady is launching a new effort for medical care for veterans. michelle obama announces a hundred medical schools are pledging to treat veterans with post traumatic stress disorder and other brain injuries. the 30-year-old mystery of natalie wood's death isn't getting clearer. police say despite a recent surge of detective work on the case authorities haven't uncovered new evidence that the death was a homicide. the case, however, is not closed. wood died in 1981 at the age of 43 when she drowned off catalina island. she was on her yacht with her husband and a friend. mandy drury, good morning. >> good morning. stocks are sitting around five-month highs but they are not the only things going up now. you may notice as you were sitting down and drinking your orange juice that it's been

costing you more. o.j. prices are hitting record highs as fears of fewer imports from brazil are adding to the freeze in florida and the ceo of fannie mae will step down. pressure to eliminate or transform fannie mae and freddie mac to try to reduce taxpayer losses. in fact, both come bagpiped cost taxpayers over $150 billion so far. p back to you. >> all right. thank you. what do you give to the monarch who has everything? here's your answer. as the british royals released the list of official gifts for 2011, some are strange. for will and kate gifts included a teddy bear from the british ambassador's office, a carved sockeye salmon, matching cowboy hats from calgary and one we can't figure out, caribou antler snow goggles. for prince charles and camilla there was a camel saddle, zulu

spears and shields and a warthog figurine. very interesting. back to ann, matt and al. of course the jewels, crystal and silver, too. >> right. they don't make the list because they're not fun. >> pumba from "the lion king". >> mr. roker, what's going on? >> we're looking at a lot of we weather. coming out of the south where we have strong storms. heavy rain right now. later on this system, low pressure will lift up to the north and east and that's going to be bringing rain as it reaches colder air. it is going to bringing frozen mix of precipitation and into into new england. snowfall apartments up into the north, one two inches. generally rainfall, we have flood watch necessary the southeast and anywhere from one to three inches of rain. we will take a look at the lake-effect snows coming up in next hour. that's what's going on around the country. here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> good morning, tom kierein. storm center 4.

we could get up to an inch of rain by interest end. high clouds beginning to move in. moon, though, still shining through the high clouds. live view from our sky watcher camera. frosty cold morning. scraping frost off the windshield. in the 20s throughout most of west virginia, virginia and maryland this morning and high clouds coming in advance of rain and coming into the metro area by early to mid afternoon. continuing into this evening. and that's your latest weather. matt? >> now to the decency debate at the u.s. supreme court. major networks, including nbc, are challenging the fcc's policy of hitting them with big fines of broadcasting bad language and nudity. pete williams has the latest. hi, pete. >> reporter: matt, good morning. most of the television programs that come into american homes are unregulated including what's on the cable networks and the internet. but the government does police what's shown by the traditional broadcasters. they claim that rule no longer

makes sense. when abc stations briefly showed parts of a nude woman in a 2003 episode of the police drama "nypd blue" the fcc slapped them and the network with a huge fine. the government started punishing broadcasters for letting even a single four-letter word slip by during live shows. >> i was really, really [ bleep ] brilliant. really, really great. [ laughter ] >> reporter: it's been more aggressive in patrolling for the fleeting expletives like this one from cher. >> i have had critics in the last 40 years saying i was on my way out every year. right. so [ bleep ] you. >> reporter: from another awards show nicole richie. >> have you ever tried to get cat [ bleep ] out of a prada purse? it's not so [ bleep ] simple. >> reporter: cbs and the government are still fighting over a fine after the janet

jackson wardrobe malfunction at the super bowl. the government and its defenders say the indecency rules are justified because broadcast tv reaches so many homes that are so easy for children to watch. >> people believe network television should be cleaner than cable and they make choices in that regard. >> reporter: but some say the assumptions about broadcasting's reach are no longer true with the explosion of other choices. they say treating them differently violates their rights of free expression. >> the time has come to treat broadcast tv on an equal footing with the rest of media. the same first amendment rights out to apply. >> reporter: some members of the supreme court seem sympathetic, the networks can't tell what's indecent and what isn't. she noted the fcc allowed the broadcasts of "saving private ryan" and "schindler's list" which include nudity and

profanity. judging from tuesday's argument here the court doesn't seem likely to stop the fcc's policing of broadcasters, but it may require clearer rules from now on about what's allowed into the home. matt? >> pete williams at the supreme court this morning. thank you, as always. just ahead, a surprising arrest in connection with the murders of a wealthy couple in an up scale tampa neighborhood. details in the case. first, this is "today" on nbc. okay, people, let's get started.

pete, did you forget yours? me pete, me use pen! (laughter) sorry i'm late, i was in the 16th century looking for pete's pen. (laughter) guys, guys. take it easy, ok? pete's mom is videochatting me, and she wants her pen back! ok, alright, well. i just got one. so... yeah, you've got a little... yep, i can feel the wet patch. don't look at it. when it's on your mind, it's on ebay.

just ahead, the grandmother forced to wear what she thought was a bomb into a bank talks about her frightening ordeal. >> and ricky gervais on his rise to fame and how he defines offensive, after your local news. [ thinking ] okay, you can be a rising star, or... but you just ordered a crispy mcchicken and a fresh-brewed sweet tea for only a buck each off mcdonald's dollar menu,

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k4r07b 26 is your time now on this wednesday, january 11, 2012. i'm duane young. we are expecting a lot of rain today as a big storm moves into the area. meteorologist tom kierein is here with a look at your forecast. good morning, tom. >> good morning. that will not arrive until this afternoon. right now, though, there's the predawn sunrise under way. sun will be coming up here in just a couple of minutes. and it is coming up in a partly cloudy skies. we have increasing clouds and it is frosty cold. you will be scraping frost off the windshield. we are in the 20s throughout most of the region and clouds beginning to thicken up from the south and west. rain now near richmond. over towards the southern shenandoah valley. as that does, eventually moves up our way here.

we will have temperatures warming into the low and mid 40s. rain this afternoon and and tonight ending tomorrow. that's the way it looks now. >> thank you. we will take a quick break and

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it's fresh toasted and piled-high with pastrami, then topped with pickles, mustard, and cheese. head into a subway® restaurant today for this melty, mouthwatering sub! ♪ i'm feelin' subway ♪ let's go 7:30 now on this wednesday morning, the 11th day of january, 2012. take a look at that picture. spectacular view from the top of the rock. it is a perfect morning in the northeast. lots of sun, not too cold, just right we hope for the folks out in rockefeller plaza. glad they decided to join us for our 60th anniversary week. inside studio 1a i'm ann curry alongside matt lauer. just ahead we have a compelling story about a grandmother's ordeal. we'll hear from the 73-year-old woman who was kidnapped, forced to where what she thought was a

bomb into a bank and forced to take out money. we'll get the latest on the story. >> how many times have you heard people say breakfast is the most important meal of the day? david zinczenko says that may not be true if you begin the day with certain cereals. ahead, options to popular brands including one that has the same amount of sugar in it as eight feet of fruit roll-up. >> soi can't eat the cocoa pops anymore. and this video shows a russell brand taking off his ring before he filed for divorce from katy perry. we'll take about that coming up this morning. >> we will begin with an arrest made in connection with the brutal murderes of a florida doctor and his wife. kerry sanders has details on the story. hi, kerry.

>> reporter: good morning. detectives say it was an inside job. the sheriff says dr. hector rivera and his wife deborah, 55 years old, were allegedly murdered by her personal assistant. why? greed. investigators were puzzled. who could have gone over the eight foot walls unnoticed and penetrated the around the clock security in avila. now they say it was an inside job. dr. hector rivera and his wife were allegedly murdered by her personal assistant. 31-year-old julian ospina flores is charged in the murders. the motive? investigators say it was all about money. deborah rivera ran a part-time jewelry business and it is believed flores targeted them after he drove her home from a recent jewelry buying trip. investigators say ospina flores tried to cover up the alleged role, dialling 911 himself and claiming he, too, had been a

victim. >> during an interview with the defendant he stated he was attacked by an unknown male inside the residence and that he had been bound and forced into a bathroom. no signs of forced entry were ever noticed within the residence or the vehicles at the scene. >> reporter: deputies called to the scene found dr. hector rivera dead in the driveway. they believe he was at a neighbor's home watching the college championship game when he stopped home to see his wife and happened upon the jewelry heist. dr. rivera was shot repeatedly. his wife deborah, also shot several time, was found dead in the bathroom in their home. >> there was no question his intent was to make sure nobody survived the attack. >> reporter: avila is home to the one percenters, current and former residents include baseball superstars derek jeter, fred mcgrif, former baseball player and manager lou pinella, tony dungy and john grudin.

the neighborhood transformed to a crime scene where friends are at a loss to make sense of the brutality. >> my heart went to my stomach. i was in disbelief. we had one of the fund-raisers at avila and security to do that was intense. i mean, we had to have the names and information about every person coming in to it. i can't fathom. i'm still in shock over it. >> reporter: deputies say there were several calls to 911, including one from the suspect where he tries to sound like he, too, is a victim. ospina flores is expected in court this morning. matt? >> kerry sanders in tampa this morning with a disturbing story. thank you very much. let's get a check of the weather now from mr. roker. >> thanks so much, matt and ann. >> we are going to be seeing big changes in temperatures through the plains. billings, 51.

temperatures 25 degrees above normal. front moves through, boom, look at the temperatures drop. 18 today in casper. 23 in rapid side. by this evening, denver 24. temperatures 20 to 30 degrees colder than usual. teens and 20s through the plains. zero to 20 into new england. we have temperatures through the 60s and 70s on through the gulf coast. that's what's going on around the country. here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. good morning. sunrise in washington, live view from the sky watcher camera. sun coming up with high clouds that are thickening in and coming in from the west. temperatures are cold. just in the 20s to near 30 degrees. all around most of the reechblg only. as that precipitation arrives in the central southern shenandoah valley, form of icing and sleet. watch out for that. most of the rain, though, still way out in southwestern virginia and west virginia and kentucky. that will be arriving in the metro area this afternoon and continuing into tonight with highs in the low to mid 40s. warmer tomorrow. that's your latest weather. you can always go to weather channel on cable or weather.com

online. ann? >> al, thank you. now we are hearing from the 73-year-old victim of a fright b bing -- frightening and unusual attempted bank robbery. thanh truong joins us from fay jetville, arkansas. good morning. >> reporter: investigators are searching for the man who strapped what he said was a bomb to a 73-year-old grandmother. he forced her to go inside the bank and demand he she come out bringing cash. that 73-year-old betty davis being led out of the arvest bank. police removed what she was told was a bomb attached to her ankle. >> it was a very scary situation. >> reporter: davis told investigators the ordeal started monday when a man knocked on the door of her house claiming to be injured. >> i went to the door and the man -- you know, he was out there and he told me that he was

hurt. i did a foolish thing and i went out the door. >> open the door and say, let me call someone for you. he got up and grabbed her. >> reporter: davis said the suspect tied her up and eventually strapped what he said was a bomb to her ankle, flashing what he said was a detonator. investigators say he ambushed davis's husband herbert when he came home. using duct tape he bound herbert to a chair, the elderly couple helpless with an armed suspect. >> he tied my grandmother up but he just wanted money. he made her go with him to the bank. >> reporter: with the sinister device attached to her ankle davis said she was forced to drive ten miles to the bank and withdraw money from her account. >> she would extract money and they would both be released unharmed. >> reporter: davis walked in around 10:30 monday morning. once inside she revealed to bank workers that she had a bomb. the bank was evacuated as davis waited for help.

by the time the police and bomb squad arrived and detached the device the kidnapper was wrong. >> their world has been disrupted by this person and that's a shame. >> we're fine. >> everyone's okay. that's all you can pray for. >> reporter: investigators say they believe davis's story. when they went to the house they found her husband bound to the chair but he was okay. authorities say it turns out the device was not explosive. as for the suspect they are still searching for the him. ann? >> ton thohanh truong this morn thank you. coming up, healthier alternatives for the breakfast table. ap ale jacks makes the list. also, more of matt's interview with ricky gervais. first, these messages. [ sniffling ] [ male announcer ] all stuffed up?

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♪ i like cereal >> i didn't know there was a song like that. we're back at 7:41 on eat this, not that. america's favorite breakfast. if you are digging into a bowl now, pay attention. not all cereals are created equal. david zinczenko is author of the new "eat this not that supermarket survival guide." good to see you. >> great to see you. >> breakfast is the most important meal of the day and people do go for cereal for convenience but you have to be careful of choices. >> 40% of people don't eat breakfast at all which is a problem. breakfast eaters have less body fat than people who skip it. but you have to choose wisely or breakfast will break you. >> some of the information is going to surprise people. let's start with general mills

oatmeal crisp hearty raisin. oatmeal in the name sounds good. >> it's the health halo effect. i call it candy. it has 25 grams of shugarsugar. oats are fiber-rich, but the cereal has five times more sugar than fiber. we recommend a two to one ratio. >> it has the same amount of sugar as -- >> 87 cinnamon teddy grahams. yum. >> i'm no nutritionists, but this is a bad thing? >> you may want to stay away from that or just eat 30. go with the cinnamon burst cheerios. 170 calories. you get the same amount of fiber without the sugar load. cinnamon is shown to reduce blood sugar levels, stabilize them and promote heart health. >> don't send me any, but i like the honey nut cheerios. >> more sugar, but they're good.

>> honey smacks from kellogg's have been around a long time. how do they rate? >> read the ingredients and smack your head. it's 26 grams of sugar. it ends up the sugar equivalent of eight and a half feet of fruit roll-ups. that's the stinger that comes with this honey. you want to get the kellogg's apple jacks. >> not the honey smacks but the apple jacks. >> jumping jacks, apple jacks. 160 calories. you eliminate a third of the sugar. much better choice in the morning. >> gluten-free, very popular these days. this is maple buckwheat flakes. what's in the bowl. i'm sorry, here. >> gluten-free is a marketing buzz word, matt. gluten-free doesn't mean it won't turn you into gluten free willy. you have 230 calories.

>> that was a long way to go for that. >> sorry. 11 grams of sugar. the calorie equivalent is seven cups of popcorn -- butter popcorn. >> gluten free alternative, you like this. >> puffed corn. 120 calories, 60% fewer calories and you end up with without the sugar load. >> we'll end on kashi. you look at the commercials. you think kashi, healthy. >> in most cases it is. but there are cases where, like with granola. this is a hippy food that goes to your hips. people eat a cup of it. next thing you know it's 500 calories with all the sugary clusters. it ends up the equivalent of 69 swedish fish for breakfast. go with the go lean crunch. >> and you will go with the go

lean crunch. i can tell you that. >> all right! go with the go lean crunch so you don't have to go lean against the wall until the sugar rush passes. you are going to end up saving 250 calories and a bunch of sugar. >> lots of good ones today free willy might be the best. david zinczenko, thank you very much. up next, remarkable images from an alaska town buried under 15 feet of snow. we'll take you there after this. capital one's new cash rewards card gives you a 50% annual bonus! so you earn 50% more cash. according to research, everybody likes more cash. well, almost everybody... ♪ would you like 50% more cash? no! but it's more money. [ male announcer ] the new capital one cash rewards card. the card for people who want 50% more cash. what's in your wallet? woah!

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to learn about a free trial offer. ♪ made with only milk... cream... a touch of sugar... and pure natural flavors. ♪ who knew being natural could be so delicious? coffee-mate natural bliss. from nestle. add your flavor naturally. back now at 7:49 with a sno snow-weary town in alaska that has a pressing need for shovels. right, al? >> the residents of alaska are used to snow and ice but the blizzard pounding the town this week is unlike anything in recent memory. as alaska digs out from an extreme winter storm, this is the sound of hope.

but with many residents trapped in their homes and more snow on the way, one fishing village has been hit with a peculiar problem -- a shovel shortage. welcome to cordova, population 2,200 where residents have been pummelled by nearly 18 feet of snow. >> i would love some help. >> reporter: jeff bailey can barely see his home. >> i have to tunnel into the front door. >> reporter: others found their way to social media giving the outside world a glimpse of what they are living through. >> oh, my god. beth's roof just went. >> reporter: the massive snows triggered avalanches in a state used to ice and snow. this is different. the mayor declaring a disaster. dozens of national guard troops arriving to help. 700 miles away -- >> as soon as we get out of the critical range i'll tell you. >> reporter: help could not come soon enough for a russian fuel tanker on a resupply mission. the coast guard trying to provide assistance but with shifting ice up to three feet

thick the operation at times comes to a halt and even they aren't sure if the tanker will make it to nome. >> we have been working, assisting them if they get stuck and escorting them. >> reporter: back in cordova, residents are bracing for another one to two feet of snow as they await a tool for the ultimate shovel-ready project. >> eight to ten buildings have been damaged or destroyed from the weight of the snow. >> wow. >> it's amazing with technology. in the old days they would have needed -- to help them. >> we have a severe winter and many areas are having a mild winter. i have people saying, we're not going to get snow. maybe a little bit. >> that's optimistic. >> everybody's stressed out about whether this is global warming. should we be stressed out? >> i don't think so. but there is some concern. climate change. let's call it that.

>> whatever the heck it is, it isn't over yet. >> just ahead, ricky gervais on why he says he can defend every joke he's ever told. he may need to defend some on sunday night after your local news. delivering a 200-pound ice sculpture means i don't have any margin for error. one wrong turn and i could end up unloading a puddle of water. female voice: turn right ahead. so i make sure i have the right guidance to get me exactly where i need to be. it's the same with taxes. turbotax has a unique gps feature that guides me step by step, and if i have any questions, i can even ask a tax expert by phone or chat, for free, which helps me know it's done right and get my maximum refund, guaranteed. man: get free, one-on-one, expert tax advice. go to turbotax.com.

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7:56 is your time now. good morning to you. i'm eun yang. a wet day and cold one as well. let's check the forecast with meteorologist tom kierein in the storm center. >> good morning. clouds closed in but it is still cold. all around our region we are in the mid and upper 20s to near the freezing mark. we want it to continue to warm up. in charlottesville near the freezing mark. that's good news because the precipitation is getting closer now. there may be a little bit of sleet around charlottesville, towards harrisonburg. maybe a little bit of icing in some of the higher elevations of the central blue ridge. r. rain not arriving until noontime and continue thing afternoon this evening. >> rye back with a check of your traffic. (ringing)

hello? this is the sea calling. the sea? yeah! (laughing) what's it like there? brrrrrrr! how do you deal with that? a coat, a hat. gloves. scraping ice off a car. (making scraping noises) i don't want to rub it in, but where i am, it's 82 and sunny. get me outta here! (laughing)

two car-crash shut down the ramp. taking the beltway jammed at new hampshire avenue, delays continue tall way to georgia avenue. pretty slow. 25 miles per hour. inner loop in virginia, your delays continue from robinson terminal tool i-66 and you are at 21 miles per hour. very slow. you are bumper to bumper. another news update in 25 minutes. for now back to the "today" show after this short break.

happy 60th birthday "today" show. >> i have loved every moment. >> i remember watching joe garagiola with my mother. >> dave garroway. >> as dave said, peace. >> good morning. it's the 11th day of january 2012. our thanks to tom hanks, eddie murphy, sheryl crow, maroon 5 and tony bennett as we celebrate the 60th anniversary of today. we'll keep the celebration rolling in a little bit. >> that's right. >> we'll meet two of the original staffers who helped create the "today" show 60 years ago. >> one is a graphic designer.

another was one of the executives. boy, they have stories. we'll hear about it. also coming up, we address a question that may inflame emotions in a lot of moms. is it ever okay to lie to your children? there is a new survey done by "parenting" magazine that found 85% of moms admit to lying under certain circumstances. >> lyingfibbing i? big or little lies. >> we'll get to that. >> also more with ricky gervais. he'll talk about his childhood, how he feels about the label some attach to him which is -- genius. and why he has absolutely no idea if he's going to offend anyone with his jokes this weekend. >> he has no idea? come on. of course he knows. >> he didn't think anything he said last year was offensive. >> okay. >> there you go. when you were walking in london did you boost a car?

>> convenience store. >> a couple of criminals walking down the street. let's get inside to natalie at the news desk looking pretty. >> aw, thanks so much. good morning. despite mitt romney's big win in new hampshire all the presidential candidates say they will stay in the race. romney got the double digit victory he was expecting in the first in the nation primary. ron paul came in second. jon huntsman finished a disappointing third. now to south carolina for the next primary in ten days. prisoners at guantanamo bay are marking the detention camp's tenth anniversary today with sit-ins and hunger strikes. it was created in cuba to hold terror suspects after the 9/11 attacks. it still holds 171 inmates. president obama pledged to close guantanamo bay within a year of taking office. the ntsb is investigating a close call between two jets at chicago's midway airport last month. officials say a southwest

airlines 737 had landed on the taxiway when a private jet nearly collided with it. >> a jet was taking off. we had to hit the breaks. >> nobody was injured. casey anthony says the internet posting of her private video diaries was the work of a computer hacker. nbc's mark potter has more. >> i just pierced my nose last night. >> reporter: casey anthony said she's not happy that her video diaries are now on the internet. a second video from anthony emerged where this time she has red hair and shows off new piercings. anthony claims this and another video were meant to be private and complains in her monthly probation report that someone tampered with her computer saying, my computer was recently hacked, private videos that were recorded.

in the same report a probation official writes, offender upset that videos have been downloaded to youtube. >> not guilty. >> reporter: after being tried and found not guilty in the death of her daughter caylee, casey anthony is serving a one-year probation in florida for passing bad checks. in the first video diary anthony said she hopes to shorten her probation and leave the state. her attorney on fox says the thoughts on the videos were never meant to be shared. >> i think a person who is in a situation like casey just wants to have some way of expressing themselves. >> reporter: he said no one should read into what anthony says on the videos which were supposed to be personal. for "today," mark potter, nbc news, miami. >> now for a look at what's trending today, our quick round-up of what has you talking online. tick-tock, the doomsday clock.

it's been moved forward by a minute, leaving it at just five minutes until midnight. a youtube video of russell brand removing his wedding ring is going viral. it was posted six weeks before brand filed for divorce from katy perry as a he was embarking on a tour of u.s. colleges. >> i'm going to learn firsthand about sororities and place this somewhere very, very safe for the next week. >> reporter: that video was shot two weeks after the couple's first wedding anniversary. and she smells so nice is a top search on yahoo. ♪ >> reporter: the title of the song, the first new single from the doors in more than 40 years. it was discovered while reviewing the l.a. woman recording session tapes ahead of the classic album's re-release. it will be a big hit, no doubt.

8:05 now. back outside to al with a check of the weather. hey, al. >> thanks, natalie. "today" show turning 60 and this young lady turning 60. what's your name? >> susan fleish. >> well, happy birthday. and ashlee is 6. happy birthday. how are you? >> good! >> all right. let's check your weather. our pick city of the day happens to be milwaukee. tmj-nbc 4, sunny and mild. they are getting ready for a big packer game this weekend. midwest snow. low-pressure system. causing some lake-effect snow over the next 48 hours. bringing you those winds across the great lakes and snowfall amounts from peoria up to milwaukee. 6 to 9 inches. normally not a big deal. but in a season where we have not seen a lot of snow, five inches in chicago now will almost double the amount they

have gotten so far for the season. that's what's going on around the country. here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> good morning. increasing clouds now. i'm tom kierein in storm center 4. temperatures are still frosty cold. and beginning to warm up, though a little bit. it is now near or a little bit above freezing in washington. nearby suburbs. still some parts of northern virginia, maryland are in the upper 20s. precipitation now beginning to get closer to us. right now from charlottesville to richmond getting a few sprinkles. little bit of sleet around harrisonburg. freezing rain. then chilly rain this afternoon into this evening. around much of the region. you want to wish your wife a happy birthday? >> i do. happy birthday, jessica. i love uh you. i'll be home soon. >> all right. that's a good present, jess. ann? >> coming up next, how exactly does ricky gervais define "offensive"? we'll find out. first, these messages. ng my fac. but sometimes i wonder... what's left behind?

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we're back at 8:10 with more of our exclusive interview with ricky gervaise as he prepares to host the golden globes this coming weekend. what was he like as a child? how does he define "offensive"? we talked about that and more recently in london. >> one thing that can't be bought is a golden globe -- officially. >> reporter: as hollywood's a-list gathered to honor its own ricky gervaise turned the golden globes awards show on its head. >> honestly, i like a drink as much as the next man.

unless the next man is mel gibson. >> reporter: that was 2010. a mere year later he accepted his first golden globes for creating and starring in the original british version of "the office." >> we used to run the world before you. [ laughter ] >> reporter: the series spawned the hit u.s. version starring steve carell and earned gervais and carell fame, fortune and a permanent place on the red carpet. it was a turnaround for the would be pop singer who struggled in the 1980s. suddenly gervais had it all. success at the age of 40. you said you were a late bloomer. you had success at 40 and started to think, i don't have much time left. why put anything out at that stage of my career that's not really good? >> well, i was hooked on the pursuit of excellence as opposed to just getting by. i realize now that the hard work

is the reward. that sounds like some sort of born again evangelist sort of worker, but i mean it. >> reporter: success led to more success. though he probably could have rested on his comedy laurels he minced no words, even about the people who paid the bills. >> next up, eva longoria has the daunting task of introducing the president of the hollywood foreign press. that's nothing! i just had to help him off the toilet and pop his teeth in. >> reporter: his blistering performance at the 2011 golden globe awards even drew jeers from peers. >> like many of you, we recall back when ricky was a slightly chubby but very kind comedian. >> yeah. neither of which is he now. >> reporter: now, time for round three. what's it like to be in your shoes now? >> winston churchill said if you find a job you really love you will never work again. that's what it feels like. it's not like i'm a soldier or

digging holes or building walls. i mean, what am i doing? i'm coming up with jokes and annoying people? i'd be doing that anyway. >> there are some lines. >> there are, but it's how you deal with it. one, i think offense is taken, not given. some people are offended by a quality. some people are offended by mixed marriage, homosexuality. what are we going to do? stop those things? >> you said a comedian should be as funny as he or she can be and be able to sleep at night and you defend every joke you have told. >> i'm not a comedian who says, oh, it was a joke. comedy is your conscience taking a day off. mine doesn't take a day off. some people are just offended. you really can't worry about them. you know whether you have done right or wrong. >> a word that's been used in connection with you in a number of articles is you're a genius.

>> i used it! >> i have heard people call you a genius. how do you feel about the term? >> i just think medicine lost another genius to hbo. >> you don't feel as if you are a genius? >> i did a radio show once in america. the guy on before me isolated a particular gene on the double helix structure of dna. then i came on and i went, i've got to compete with this guy and i created a sit-com. the producer said, yeah, two. i said, yeah, i win. >> did you always feel smarter than the kids around you? >> yeah, but i felt guilty about thinking that. more and more now i realize you should have no pride in being smart or being what you are. it's what you do with it. i didn't always work in class at university. everyone was speaking like prince charles. i didn't have any money really

until my late 30s. when "the office" broke i felt guilty about it. you know, i was so proud of that. when the check came through it sort of ruined it a bit. that sounds weird. i got over it. >> you're comfortable with it now? >> i don't want to say i did it for that. i have never done anything for a million pounds i wouldn't do for free. bob dylan said a man can be considered a success if he wakes up in the morning, goes to bed at night and in between did exactly wh hat he wanted. that's success. >> this from your blog, spent the last few days playing around with ideas for my third and final hosting gig at the golden globes. i would say there's nothing offensive in there but i thought that last year. i'm not sure of the rules anymore. >> i didn't think last year was offensive. >> that's a hard way to go into an event, not knowing where the lines are. >> my point is this -- i'm going to do the same as last year.

>> nothing for "sex and the city"? i was sure special effects would go to the team that air-brushed that poster. if you think it's offensive, i don't care. i don't think it is. i don't think anything i said last year was offensive. it will be as offensive as that. >> you can catch ricky gervais sunday night at 8:00 p.m. eastern on nbc. al, natalie and savannah will be life in los angeles monday morning on "today" with a complete wrap-up of the winners, dresses and the after parties. up next, a parent's guide to lying. the new survey revealing how often moms lie to kids and why. right after this.

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on friends learned the truth about old yeller. >> happy family gets a dog. frontier fun. >> what about the end? >> when yeller save it is family from the wolf and everyone's happy? >> that's not the end. >> yuh-huh. that's when my mother shut off the tv and said "the end". >> what about the part where he has rabies. >> he doesn't have rabies. he has babies. that's what my mom said. >> now there is a new survey by "parenting" magazine that reveal as majority of moms lie to their kids and 85% of moms say they do it to get out of social obligations. we have rachel fishman fetorson from parenting.com and jennifer heartstein, a psychologist, joining us. good morning. >> good morning. >> your magazine said you and the team say that telling lies to your family is sometimes, you say, the right thing to do. example? >> well, you know, there is the thing called a little white lie

if you are protecting someone's feelings. if you are finessing certain issues that revolve around the magic of childhood, santa, the easter bunny, the tooth fairy. certain situations require moms to choose their words carefully. >> have you looked at the survey? you did a survey and found 85% of moms admitted to -- in a recent survey they have lied to get out of social obligations. do you find parents lie more regularly than just the items you mentioned like on a daily, weekly, monthly basis? >> for the modern mom, her life is full, the schedule is pa are amount. if you are at the park and you have a toddler who is a limp noodle who went get up it may be easier to say "the park's closing" than to have a

discussion about why it's essential to get out now. >> do you want to weigh in on this, jennifer? how do we expect honest teenagers if we lie to them? >> we were talking before. it's a tough challenge. there are fibs, as we call them. that might allow us to get out of situations, that might help us. what we are saying it 4 we won't say at 14. we want to talk about what the lies give to our children and how they are really going to help them. we do want to protect the fantasy of childhood and there are times we want to do that. we want them to be honest, polite, kind and real. >> i remember the fury of my son when he started to question whether i was lying about santa claus. he was furious about it. you can have difficulty depending on the nature of the child. part of it is on the today moms

website we ask about lying. 51% admitted to lying in the past week. the question is they tended to lie more to children than to their spouses or their friends. in other words, don't kids get it? don't they know? aren't they smarter than we think? >> they see what you do. it's important to set a good example and be a good person. we want to raise good people. you can't do it by not being a good person yourself. like i said, for modern moms with so many preshurs and living life in so many spheres on facebook, twitter, with friends. there are just -- keeping things moving is essential. >> sometimes it's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. you can always rebuild the relationship. >> slippery slope. thank you so much for your information this morning. for more head to the today moms blog at today.com.

here's matt. >> thank you very much, ann. let's say hi to our friend willard scott. hello. >> ♪ happy birthday one of the most beautiful towns in the world, providence, rhode island. happy birthday. happy birthday to our friends from smucker's all over the country. mildred nellis of bratenahl, ohio, 100 years old today. a former model. she attributes her longevity to vodka. mm. yeah, a little bloody mary never hurt. baton rouge, louisiana's in inez lirette lives independe independently, enjoys playing bridge and eating fresh seafood.

i told you, darling, it's good for you. manervia rayford of kosciusko, mississippi is 107. enjoys fishing, hunting and farming. uh eel bet p you she's something. like sarah palin. john stapulionis of waterbury, connecticut, enjoys tinkering with electronics. he's 105 years old. lawrence christie of battleground, washington state is 105. enjoys hunting and playing golf. he loves to walk every day. her man solomon of monroe township, new jersey, is 100 years old. god bless you, sir. and a passionate man about politics.

loves to talk politics. hallelujah. don't we all? want another debate? uh now back to new york. >> all right, willard. thank you very much. just ahead, martha stewart with simple ingredients -- let's go right to tom kierein with your forecast. >> temperatures are now just beginning to get above freezing throughout much of northern virginia, maryland, district of columbia and by the bay. there are a few pockets it is still in the 20s across parts of northern virginia and into west virginia. the precipitation, you are going get closer to us from near fredericksburg to charlottesville. sprinkles of light rain. there may be a little bit of icing that way. over the next hour or so. rain arriving in the metro area around noontime and continuing into the evening. >> thank you, tom. traffic skoming up next. stay with us. beth!

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multigrain cheerios. good morning. still seeing delays in our area. slow on 395. delays start at edsall and continue across the 14th street bridge. travel speed for you, 23 miles per hour. and inner loop still jammed in

virginia. live look at robinson terminal. delays continue to i-66. no accidents. just slow. from the interchange to the dulles toll road, 23 miles per hour. >> more news, weather and traffi

8:30 now on a wednesday morning, the 11th day of january 2012. it's a nice morning here in the big apple. the sun looks like it's about to poke out above us. we're excited about that. we have a huge crowd. a really nice crowd here in rockefeller plaza. coming up this morning, we have

a big 60th anniversary celebration planned. we'll show you what it looked like in 1952 and this morning with eel meet two of the original staffers who helped create this broadcast. >> wow. >> also ahead, it smells great in the studio today because martha stewart is here. not only does she smell great. >> of course. >> but she's cooking things that smell great using three of her favorite ingredients today. we are cooking with lemon, parsley and parmesan. >> virtually anything. >> it's usually a jungle here but today, even more so. that's because we've got a baboon, a paythoython, tiger cu and -- who else -- an owl. >> one of the bilggest owls thee is there. >> maybe he'll do our favorite owl dance later. >> we love it. also a big reminder to you.

we are looking for the best potpie recipes in the country. if you've got what it takes enter your recipe on our website today.com. we'll pick our favorites, bring them to new york and bobby flay will put them to the test and crown our winner later this month. >> who doesn't love a pot pie? >> we all love it. >> how about the forecast? >> we have pot pie weathertoday. we have snow showers there. snow in -- sunny and cooler in the pacific northwest. rain heavy at times in the mid atlantic states. and as we move into tomorrow, that rain moves into the northeast. snow in new england. frigid conditions return to the plains. cool down through texas. plenty of shine out west. it is going to turn much chillier in the pacific northwest on into the rockies. >> good morning. we have increasing clouds coming in. from the south. and temperatures are generally not getting up to -- are getting

up to freezing mark. that will continue to climb. precipitation is getting closer. spotsylvania county, spraincles of light rain there. few locations, little bit of patchy ice from fredericksburg towards charlottesville and harrisonburg. watch out for that. some rain noontime, metro area, continuing to this evening. more tomorrow with sun back. don't forget. get your weather any time day or night. weather channel on cable or weather.com online. >> coming up, we'll meet two original "today" show staffers. first, this is "today" on nbc. ♪

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it's your last chance to get verizon's reliable high speed internet and phone for small business for only $84.99 a month. call 1.866.solutions now or visit verizon.com/solutions. only $84.99 for high-speed internet and phone. plus your choice of either no annual contract or a two year price guarantee. call 1.866.solutions or visit verizon.com/solutions today. hurry -- this offer won't last long. contact the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 1-800-974-6006 ♪ happy anniversary baby >> well, good morning once again. back at 8:35. this morning on "today" at 60, a full house. we're here to talk about some of the great people who helped create the show. we begin with one man's story.

>> few remain who remember the small print in this dream, but we found one sitting in a familiar window. ♪ never thought my heart would be so yearning ♪ ♪ why did i decide to roam >> lou didn't inherit the show. he helped invent it. >> oh, it was frightening. >> reporter: even for a veteran returning from the korean war. >> what about a microphone? >> oh, yeah! >> reporter: the studio was crammed with state of the art -- stuff. and the staff had to learn to strike a balance between the two parts of the show. >> one was news game. the other was show biz. >> reporter: here they are on one of "today's" first road trips in biloxi, minnesota. that's lou. the graphic artist gladly did

two jobs. >> when i was a kid, starving artist was one word. >> reporter: back then the television was a heavy piece of furniture in the living room. most folks were in the kitchen when "today" came on the air. host dave garroway had only one sponsor, kiplinger magazine. >> i can give you this one free. >> he elevated people's curiosity and intelligence. >> reporter: with a barefoot voice. >> you will see the news running over my feet like this. >> reporter: he presided over the first social media, inviting us to peek in the studio window to see ourselves. >> this is a program from america to america. >> reporter: despite that the show almost faded from the small screen. for adults watching television in the morning was considered somewhat decadent. like dessert, tv was consumed after dinner. what changed that was a baby

born two months to the day after the show premiered. >> this young philosopher here is a fellow named j. fred muggs. >> reporter: garroway's new co-host. >> i don't think garroway was found of him? he wasn't disciplined. >> reporter: but kids loved muggs so much they persuaded their parents to leave the kitchen and finally watch the show. >> we call it "today" and two minutes. here it is for the first time. >> reporter: no tv had shown reporters live from the scene of breaking news. >> go ahead, chicago. >> reporter: or watched weather developing in places they didn't live. >> up here it turns to snow, right in here. >> reporter: it introduced them to books they hadn't read. >> this is "a man called peter" by catherine marshall. >> reporter: lawmakers they hadn't met and recipes they ought to try. >> this is a blintz. if you want another we'll call it blintzes.

>> you can't have my pencil. you're getting strong. by golly, we finished 50/50. >> reporter: those who laughed last. >> that's a long, slow look. >> reporter: "today" show may be more high tech than the one lou started. >> i don't see any crayons. >> reporter: but his work is still beautiful. >> it holds up. >> technology changes and things like that, but the art is what counts. >> reporter: from all the folks the cameras seldom show. >> this is all your stuff. >> i can't stand it! >> reporter: the ones who, 60 years ago had the rare gift to see what we all see, but think what no one else has thought. >> that's the way they changed the way america woke up. this morning we have with us lou and 90-year-old mike dan who is one of the original creators of

"today." >> good morning. great to have you here. >> lou, let me start with you. what was it like to see the area where the technology has come so far? >> unbelievable. we have three cameras. one camera was on an ease sell where we did the art work to shoot the limbo. then we had one camera for the window and one for dave garroway. >> you were a kid when you were working on the show. >> yes. >> what were the early days like for you? >> i worked from 12:00 midnight to 8:00 in the morning. show went on at 7:00 a.m. all the work was done at night. the news, all the news was ticking away. and everything had to be done by 5:00 a.m. that was dress rehearsal. >> mike, as an executive for the broadcast when dave garroway was the anchor there was a moment he came to you and said, it's either me or the chimp.

did you think about keeping the chimp? >> yeah. i thought about keeping the chimp. i wouldn't care if dave left. >> whoa! >> because our ratings were quite acceptable, but nothing extraordinary. but when we had the chimp on the show, the ratings actually doubled. now for ratings to double without any promotion, ads or anybody screaming at night, you know, we have the president of the united states on for tomorrow morning, it was extraordinary. so when the chimp came in, he took over. nobody -- there was no script. nobody running around trying to keep the chimp happy, giving him nuts or something like that. he jumped on dave's lap. dave didn't know what to do with him. the monkey would be grabbing him like that. he finally stormed into my office afterwards.

he was exhausted. he says, mike, he says, the damn chimp -- you know what he's causing. he said, it's either me or the chimp. i said, dave, don't make me make that choice. [ laughter ] >> after that, he calmed down. dave was a very somber man. he took everything very serious. >> like al. >> right. >> they feed him a lot of peanuts in between. >> and the director on the set. if you had a complaint he'd like to hear it, but that's all. people felt at ease. he didn't like to interview people. >> he wasn't a people person. >> no, no. >> he wasn't. >> nobody wanted to come in at 5:00 a in the morning. >> that hasn't changed. >> mike, you have to come out of your shell. you do. >> besides the challenges with the chimp and with the personalities, what were some of the bigger challenges the show had early on? >> the biggest single show on

the opening day was the fact that we had just taken over the exhibition hall with the building we are uh now in. the biggest problem was first it was a huge snowstorm. second of all, we were terrified of the fire engines or the police cars outside the window making noise. so i called the mayor's office to please tell him not to come down this street. he told me we didn't have to put the show on the air. so it wasn't difficult. >> do you still watch the show on a daily basis? >> yes, yes. >> good. >> every morning. >> i'm glad to hear that. >> with my coffee, looking at you. when nielsen calls, i say, yes. >> mike and lou, thank you, guys. >> thank you. >> for the legacy you leave behind for all of us. >> it's an honor. >> thank you so much. >> great piece, bob dodson. >> tomorrow, how people were watching the show then and now

how they watch it every morning. and we'll have a special piece, all of the anchors you have loved through the years back. >> what about the chimp? >> we'll be right back after this. this is "today"

this morning on martha on today the power trio of lemon, parsley and parmesan. alone each ingredient adds great flavor. together they bring new personality to your favorite foods. martha has a stack of recipes from this month's issue of "living." nice to see you. >> happy anniversary. >> thank you very much. three of my favorite ingredients. i love lemon, parmesan and i love parsley. >> so do i. >> why are they good together? >> first of all, they are easy to have in the pantry. parsley saves quite a long time

in the vegetable drawer, the chr crisper. lemons are in season now. these are meyer lemons and parmesan stays just about forever. >> you have to be careful with proportion. i have had overly lemony chicken. you have to be careful. >> these are extremely good recipes from martha stewart living. we'll do the lemon parsley chicken first. >> and potatoes. >> this chicken is a nice little broiler, like a three-point chicken. put a lot of parsley in the cavity. then a lot of lemon juice -- you can put the whole half lemon inside. >> do you squeeze it or just let it -- >> it will cook in there. >> it will sweat. >> chopped parsley, salt, pepper and truss the chicken. the reason you truss a chicken is so it cooks evenly, so the wing tips are underneath. you just tie the little drumsticks together just to keep

the chicken from splaying out. i like a look of a chicken that's well cooked and well trussed. >> you talk about that with turkeys as well for thanksgiving. >> olive oil. 425 for 15 minutes and reduce it to 375. it takes oh, an hour and ten minutes. >> let's go to the potatoes. >> put the potatoes -- scatter them around and roast them with salt, pepper and olive oil. this is the sauce that goes over the chicken when it's done. parsley, parmesan cheese -- freshly grated -- a pinch of red pepper. not the whole thing. >> right. >> garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt. mix it all up. when it comes out of the oven, you toss the potatoes in here and decorate the chicken with sauce. now this is an interesting recipe. look at this. this is like a scrambled egg and ham -- >> on a 15-inch baguette. >> you hollow out the baguette.

>> some of your recipes, when we deal with bread you like bread that's crustier than fresh. does this work like that? >> this would be a fresh baguette. take out all the bread. >> scoop it out in the middle. >> five eggs, parmesan cheese, parsley, lemon zest, three tablespoons of whole milk and more of the bread that you just break up. salt and pepper. mix it up and spread the prosciutto in there. >> by the way, i think this is fairly obvious. this is not a recipe you suggest to serve with that. this is a separate recipe. >> no, this is separate. >> wait a second. you're rushing me. >> you're usually rushing me. >> i know the time here. >> put this into 350 degrees preheated oven. doesn't it look great? >> i prefer it after it come out of the 350-degree oven. >> yeah. well, delicious. wait until it puffs.

30 minutes and you have that. >> we don't have time, but can we show this beautiful pasta dish? >> amazing. >> pasta, lemon and parmesan. >> it's like a pesto. >> martha stewart, nice to have you here. up next, the jungle comes into our studio. first, this is "today" on nbc. i just had it with cable. it just got more frustrating and frustrating. a lot of times, the picture would break up. for the amount of money that i am paying, my cable company should take care of me. [ male announcer ] stop paying for second best. move up to verizon fios tv, internet and phone for our best price online -- just $89.99 a month guaranteed for two years. first time we saw tv on fios was amazing! i was just in a trance watching it. i'm discovering new channels every day. [ male announcer ] and here's a special bonus: sign up now and get $300 back with a two-year contract. fios internet -- the speed, you can't compare. i'm able to take care of things much faster now. [ male announcer ] start saving now.

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♪ >> we're back with today's call of the wild. david is a naturalist with the national wildlife federation and has brought some of his animal friends. good morning. >> good morning. this is a baby tiger. a little bengal tiger. he's scratching me a little bit. they have claws. i'll let him walk around. they have pretty impressive claws even at 6 weeks old. this is one of the most endangered species on the planet. there are only 3200 to 3500 left in the wild. >> why? >> mostly because he just wants to climb over there. >> that's okay. >> habitat destruction. they are hunted for traditional medicines. all parts of these guys are used in traditional chinese medicines. there is a big market for that.

people can make money. unfortunately people go out and poach these animals. you can pet if you want. >> how big will he get? >> much bigger. several hundred pounds for an adult male. he's about six weeks old. he has a lot of growing to do. there are more tigers in captivity than in the wild in asia where they live. they need our help. >> he'd like to go home. >> we'll send him home. >> get me out of here! >> you have never seen this kind of animal before. this is a finterong. you may not want to get too close. he may want to sniff your hair. he's from southeast asia. not a type of animal we have in north america. >> get him to look at the camera. he has a wonderful face. >> what's he want to do? >> he wants to sniff my hair. >> he wouldn't care about me. >> they are very olfactory.

now she wants the grape. this is olga. check out the giant tail. one of only two carnivore species with a prehensile tail. they are vulnerable because tropical forests in asia are being cut down for agriculture. >> we won't get close but it smells like popcorn. >> it does. they are very olfactory oriented animals. the natural scent -- >> buttered popcorn. >> it smells good to us. they use it for communication amongst themselves. >> wow. >> caramel corn absolutely. >> the next animal we'll bring out here. >> hey now. >> big guy, too. >> this guy is active. >> did you bring any friendly animals? >> this is a baboon.

these are all wild animals. >> look this way. >> want to come up? >> we want to see you on tv. oh, okay. this baboon is 2 years old. he reaches maturity at 5. he's interested in his fruit here. they are super social. they live in africa. happily they are not endangered. he's a monkey and you have seen them. they are social. they like to groom. there we go. >> it's a male monkey, for sure. >> i don't think we have to point it out, ann. >> he's digging that banana. i'll tell you that right now. >> that's just what monkeys are like. >> that's why they are of least concern. >> he's cool, mellow now. >> yeah, right. [ laughter ] >> all we have to do is get a couple and he's set.

>> we should save him for late night. >> right. we have 30 seconds left. >> the biggest animal of all. >> hey now! >> this is a python. this snake weighs if you want to come in behind. he weighs a hundred pounds. this is a python from southeast asia. he's very soft, not slimy. >> actually, yes. >> we don't know the status of them in the wild. another animal that good morning. 8:56 this wednesday, january 11. let's go to storm 4 meteorologist tom kierein for a look at the forecast. >> frosty cold start. temperatures now beginning to get a little bit above freezing. 36 now at reagan national. there may be a few pockets it is below freezing. some of the rural areas of

maryland and virginia precipitation beginning to get closer now from fredericksburg to near harrisonburg. central shenandoah valley. some of the deeper valleys may be a little bit of icing. watch out for that here over the next hour or so. then later today, that rain moves into the metro area around noon time. then gets heavier at times later this afternoon overnight tonight and ending predawn tomorrow. >> thank you, tom.

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good morning. jammed gw bark way heading towards the 14th street bridge. delays start after you pass route 123. 66 inside the beltway. very slow as well. as you make your way past glebe that's where you hit your delays and continue as you make your way towards the beltway. travel speed 29 miles per hour. >> back in 25 minutes.

happy anniversary, "today" show. >> thanks for the memories. >> back now with more of "today" on a wednesday morning,he 11th day of january 2012. our thanks to those olympians for their well wishes on this, our 60th anniversary week here on "today." much appreciated. i'm matt lauer along with ann curry, al roker and tamron hall. savannah guthrie watching politics in new hampshire. >> that's right. that's where mitt romney won the

primary -- the first primary of the season last night on the heels of winning the iowa caucuses. he basically makes history because he's the first nonincumbent republican to do so. that's the big headline. of course we looked at jon huntsman. he came in third. ron paul in second. we'll look at what it all means. >> and do you know how you go into a store and if you get one of the credit cards you get a discount? >> right. >> it may not be a great idea. it could end up hurting your credit score. we'll tell you why and also have advice if you're trying to refinance coming up on today's money 911. >> in today's health, people are looking for ways to save and we have important tips to help you save on medical care without sacrificing your health. >> all right. don't you love tamron's coat? >> lovely. >> beautiful.

it is. very pretty. >> great color. >> a lot better than the one last week. >> i knew you were going to. >> boom! >> i gave them the opportunity. what did they do? oh, the boys. >> you set them up, ann. good morning, everyone. it's off to south carolina for the republican presidential hopefuls with mitt romney leading the pack after sweeping the new hampshire primaries with a double digit lead. ron paul was second. jon huntsman third. after a surprise surge in iowa senator rick santorum took a hit, tied for next to last with newt gingrich. an arrest overnight in connection with brutal murders of a florida doctor and his wife. kerry sanders is in tampa now with details. good morning, kerry. >> reporter: good morning. i'm outside the exclusive avila neighborhood. detectives here say it was an inside job. the sheriff here says dr. hector rivera, 75, and his 55-year-old

wife debra were allegedly murdered by her personal assist is -- assistant. why? greed. investigators were puzzled. who could have gone over the eight foot walls unnoticed and penetrated the around the clock security in avila. now they say it was an inside job. dr. hector rivera and his wife were allegedly murdered by her personal assistant. 31-year-old julian ospina flores is charged in the murders. the motive? investigators say it was all about money. debra rivera ran a part-time jewelry business and it is believed flores targeted them after he drove her home from a recent jewelry buying trip. investigators say ospina flores tried to cover up the alleged role, dialling 911 himself and claiming he, too, had been a victim. >> during an interview with the defendant he stated he was attacked by an unknown male inside the residence and that he had been bound and forced into a bathroom.

no signs of forced entry were ever noticed within the residence or the vehicles at the scene. >> reporter: deputies called to the scene found dr. hector rivera dead in the driveway. they believe he was at a neighbor's home watching the college championship game when he stopped home to see his wife and happened upon the jewelry heist. dr. rivera was shot repeatedly. his wife debra also shot several times was found dead in the bathroom in their 11,000 square foot home. >> there was no question his intent was to make sure nobody survived the attack. >> reporter: avila is home to the one percenters, current and former residents include baseball superstars derek jeter, fred mcgrif, former baseball player and manager lou pinella, tony dungy and john grudin. a neighborhood, despite its exclusivity, transformed to a crime scene where friends are at a loss to make sense of the brutality. >> my heart went to my stomach.

i was in disbelief. we had one of the fund-raisers at avila and security to do that was intense. i mean, we had to have the names and information about every person coming in to it. i can't fathom. i'm still in shock over it. >> reporter: deputies say there were several calls to 911, including one from the suspect who they say was trying to act like he, too, was a victim. ospina flores is expected in court later today. >> kerry sanders, thank you. the 30-year-old mystery of natalie wood's death isn't getting clearer. despite a recent surge of detective work on the case authorities have not uncovered new evidence that the hollywood star's death was a homicide. the case however is not closed. wood died in 1981 at the age of 43 when she drowned off catalina island. she was on her yacht with her

husband robert wag ner and fried christopher walken. police divers will search a river for the remains of ayla reynolds who was reported missing nearly a month ago. the father said he's hopeful his 20-month-old daughter is still alive. ayla's mother who was in substance abuse rehab at the time said she isn't getting the whole truth about what happened the night ayla disappeared. >> reporter: the makers of tw g twinkies and wonder bread has filed bankruptcy to deal with high labor costs. if you're not a morning person this machine featured in a youtube video may be just what you need if you have time on your hands, a conveniently placed hire dryer and a hamster. a sip of coffee triggers a chain reaction that helps you read the paper when you're too tired to turn the page. a lot of effort to turn the

page. al roker, unbelievable what people come up with. right? >> i've got to get me one of those. >> it's called an ipad. a little hand move. >> let's check your weather. for today areas we are looking low pressure coming out of the southeast. lot of rain. it is going to bring anywhere from one to three inches of rain through the southeast. then we have another low pressure system making its way across the great lakes. that's going to be bringing some snow and kicking off lake-effect snow. we are looking from peoria to milwaukee and anywhere from 6 to 9 inches of snow. normally not a big deal but in a winter we have not seen much in the usually heavier snow areas, that's a lot. that's what's going on around the country. hears's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> good morning around the region now with the thickening clouds, temperatures are beginning to rise. we are generally above freezing most locations in the low and mid 30s. although it may be a few pockets, though. little bit below freezing. right now getting some of the

sprinkles of light rain near fredericksburg towards the area just north of harrisonburg. south of luray. those areas that are -- may be a bit of iciness. watch out for that come and coming into culpeper. into the metro area by noontime. occasional showers this afternoon into this evening and chilly. warmer tomorrow with sun coming back. ♪ money makes the world go round ♪ >> time for today's money 911. that's where we answer some of your biggest financial questions. we have our crack panel of experts standing by. jean chatzky, author of money 911. david bachma, author of "debt fe for life" and sharon epperson. here we go. let's hit the phones. we have john from idaho on the line. good morning. >> caller: good morning. how are you? >> doing great. what's your question? >> caller: i'm well. my question is over the holidays

every store i walked into offered 20% to 30% if you got your card, applied your purchase to the credit card. luckily i was able to pay the cards off so i'm not getting interest but what do i do with the cards? do i keep them? cancel them? should i have not gotten hem? >> you should not have gotten them at all. >> how come? >> because when you apply for credit you're basically saying to the credit bureaus that you need credit and that can take your credit score down. the inquiries into your file aren't a good thing. you have two and that's a double whammy. now that you have them, cancelling them will hurt your credit score more. hold onto them. don't use them. eventually if they take up too much space in the wallet, cancel them at a rate of one every six to 12 months. but don't do it before you plan to apply for a car loan or mortgage. don't get any more cards! >> thank you, jon. now to skype to check in with

valerie from wisconsin. good morning, valerie. >> hi. >> what's your question? >> i'm a full-time college student planning on graduating this spring. i would like to go to grad school, but over last summer i had to have knee surgery and the bills keep rolling in. some of the programs i have looked into don't want me to work much. how can i pay off medical debt, go to grad school and save money without hurting myself financially? >> first of all, you sound like you're in a hole. let me pull you back up. good news for you, you have two jobs. you're working and in this world working is a good thing. don't give your jobs up. cash is king. we don't notice it until it's gone. keep the jobs. as far as grad school, go to gradschool.com. there are a ton of schools you can go to that won't require you to give up your jobs. many you can go in the evening. you can take classes online. i have a lot of friends getting

master's degrees and mbas and half of it's online. and you don't have a lot of debt. you don't have credit card debt. you have a small amount of medical debt. see if you can get the interest waived and work out a payment plan over a year or two. then keep saving money for grad school. don't give up the day job. >> all right, valerie. thank you. back to the phones. we have erica from bloomington, illinois. good morning. >> caller: good morning. >> your question? >> caller: well, i'm 23 and i'm working at a company with a competitive 401(k) program. i'm going to end my career in five to ten years to stay home as a mom. i still want to save for retirement. should i use my 401(k) or go with something outside of work like an ira? >> i have an idea what sharon will say. >> erica, first of all, congratulations on saving for retirement now at 23. you have 40 years of growth ahead of you.

you are well ahead of many americans trying to figure out if they can ever stop working. congratulations on that. you have a great 401(k) program. keep prohibiting at least up to the company match. then do something extra. your i.r.a. a idea is a great one. do a roth i.r.a. why? you're 23. it's likely you will be in a higher tax bracket when you retire. the great thing with a roth is you take out the money tax-free over 59 and a half. and then the contributions, you can take out tax-free at a any time. while this is your retirement account, if something happens when you're staying home and you need the money, you can access it. two ways to save. >> thank you, erica. we have dave in ohio. good morning. >> caller: good morning. >> what's your question? >> caller: yeah. i have a negative equity loan. my current lender which owns the loan won't do any refinancing with me. other lenders wouldn't refinance

me unless i was financed through fannie mae or freddie mac. then they would give me up to 120% of my home value. the other offers were a.r.m.s and i don't want to do that. what can i do to get refinanced? >> i don't think that a.r.m. is such a bad idea, particularly if it's a 5-1 or 7-1 arm. you want a period of time to really pay down the debt to get yourself in the positive so then you can refinance at a better rate. so look at what they are offering you in terms of an a.r.m. go from there and good luck with that. >> rates are lower than ever. >> good luck, dave. thanks for calling in. jean, dave and sharon, thanks for being here. >> good to be here. up next, saving big next time you go to the doctor without sacrificing quality health care. later on, hiding your flaws while highlighting your best features with expert makeup tips. i don't think she has any flaw. first, these messages.

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this morning on today's health, getting the most bang for your buck. many americans take advantage of spending accounts and free health screenings in their community or workplace, but there are other ways to save you money on health care. here with tips is dr. kerri peterson from women's health magazine. good to have you here. >> good morning, natalie. >> health care is expensive even with insurance. there are ways to save, other things you can do. >> there are plenty of things you can do. the average american family of four spends $19 i,000 on health care including insurance premiums. anything to shave off dollars helps. we have great tips. >> first, ask for a discount. a lot of people don't think they can bargain with doctors. can you negotiate? >> you absolutely can. this applies more to people paying out of pocket who have lost their health care

insurance. just speak to the account manager. explain your situation and often times they will give you a discount if you explain, i have lost my job. or if you pay cash up front they will be likely to give you a discount. >> good to know. another one people may not know about. you say to consider pill splitting. >> yes. >> this means when the doctor gives you a prescription you ask them to give you dble the doseage and then cut it in half. >> exactly right. that can save you 50% on medication costs. the amount manufacturers charge is the same amount for a 40 milligram pill as a 20 milligram pill. if you take 20 milligrams, ask for a 40 and cut it in half. ask if the prescription you take is eligible to be cut. extended release medications can't be cut in half. >> doesn't work for everything. don't mess with medication in that sense. >> yes. >> next, ask for a generic prescription. a lot of people -- there are a lot of generics on the market.

what about for the drugs that are specific, don't have generics yet. what can you do? >> first, ask your doctor to check if it comes generic. i had a patient paying $100 for a brand and $10 a month for a generic. >> huge savings. >> if it wasn't come generic ask your insurance company if there is another drug within the same class that's less expensive. often times insurance companies create some sort of arrangement with the drug manufacturer to get lower costs for one specific drug. >> speaking of pharmacies and specific drug companies, there are both chain farm sis, independent pharmacies as well. you say it's important to shop at preferred pharmacies. what do you mean? >> i wasn't aware of this until recently. local pharmacies and even mom and pop pharmacies can e enroll in a program that the insurance companies offer that allows them to give deep discounts on medications. you may be going to a pharmacy

not knowing a block away is a preferred pharmacy. ask your insurance provider which pharmacies in my neighborhood are part of the program. you can get cost savings as well. >> another way to save on prescriptions. you say use mail order service so there are a lot of mail order services out there now. >> there are. most insurance company wills provide a mail order prescription service. you get a 90-day supply for one copay. that saves you money and it's convenient. saves time as well rather than going to a pharmacy every month for your 30-day refill. >> you get your prescription right away? >> there could be a lag time of a week or two. if you need to start taking your medication right away, ask for two prescriptions -- one for a local pharmacy for a month and one for the three-month supply with refills to cover you. >> this is a smart way to save money. carefully read your medical bills. a lot of people don't realize there are mistakes made. >> right. people take it for granted.

experts have estimated that eight of ten medical bills may have an error. at women's health we recommend, ask for a copy of the bill, check for accuracy and when you get the explanation of benefits by your insurance plan that will tell you what they reimburse. check it as well. you never know. >> that will help you keep track of medical expenses which is your last tip. what are other easy ways to make sure you're on track? >> keep track of medical expenses. some are tax deductible which many people aren't aware of. a lot of eligible things are contact lenses, hearing aids, eyeglasses. if you are not a good organizer, i like mint.com. it keeps track of your expenses and categorizes them at the end of the year so you have a spreadsheet for your accountant to see if they are eligible for deductions. >> one of jean chatzky's favorites as well. thank you. coming up, what should and shouldn't be allowed on tv. the supreme court takes on i

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you don't like and highlight what you do. >> we like what's in today's kitchen. a delicious hearty winter dinner. cider braised pork shoulder for winter nights. >> after your local news and weather. and i'm thinking, "shouldn't you have more energy than me? you're, like, eight!" [ male announcer ] for every 2 pounds you lose through diet and exercise alli can help you lose one more by blocking some of the fat you eat. simple. effective. advantage: mom. let's fight fat with alli ♪ hi! i brought champagne. wow! the best in the world. ...some chocolates swiss! ah...the best in the world. oikos greek yogurt from dannon. really? wait until you try it. so creamy thick and fresh tasting dannon oikos berry flavors beat chobani 2:1 in a national taste test.

mmmm... this may be the best in the world. oikos greek yogurt possibly the best yogurt in the world. good morning. it is 9:26 on this wednesday, january 11. let's get right to meteorologist tom kierein. storm center 4 with a look at your forecast. >> we are getting above freezing. good morning. right now as by 'approach 9:30 temperatures around the area are in the mid and upper 30s much of the metro area. to our south, though, there may be a few pockets in some of the deeper valleys that are below freezing. some of the rain now arriving from fredericksburg towards luray may be causing icing some of the deeper valleys. looks like the light rain will be arriving into the metro area around noontime. then get heavier this afternoon into this evening. it is going to be chilly, too. highs only low and mid 40s. then sunny as we get into tomorrow afternoon.

warmer. cold weather into the weekend. >> thank you, tom. >> thank you, tom. look at tr when you first find out you have breast cancer, you feel like you're in a nightmare. when i was diagnosed, i felt very out of control and a victim of the disease. (woman) helpless but never hopeless. (woman) this is something we can do. (man) we can walk. (woman) 60 miles. we can erase breast cancer. (woman) 60 miles in 3 days. i can do that, we can do this. we can do this together. (man) register today for the... and receive $25 off your registration fee, because everyone deserves a lifetime. it's your last chance to get verizon's reliable high speed internet and phone for small business for only $84.99 a month.

call 1.866.solutions now or visit verizon.com/solutions. only $84.99 for high-speed internet and phone. plus your choice of either no annual contract or a two year price guarantee. call 1.866.solutions or visit verizon.com/solutions today. hurry -- this offer won't last long. contact the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 1-800-974-6006 good morning. seeing big delays. 66 at nutley. jammed bumper to bumper. no accidents, just congestion. traveling from fairfax county parkway to beltway on 66 your travel speed is 27 miles per

hour. that trip will take you 22 minutes. crossing 14th street bridge, slow heading into the city. your delays start on 395 north at washington boulevard. over to

she's so hilarious, so earthy. >> i am who i am. >> maybe five procedures ago. >> ooh! two snaps! >> dolly parton and queen latifah go at it in their new movie "joyful noise." oh, my goodness. this is getting rough. they didn't look joyful here. the superstars will be here to tell us about the film and we'll get a live performance from them tomorrow. >> dolly! go, queen latifah! >> meanwhile coming up, switching gears, talking about the debate over decency, whether it's partial nudity in primetime or four-letter words on reality

shows are broadcasters crossing the line? we'll take a look. >> in today's beauty from gray hair to dark circles, we have tricks of the trade from a makeup expert to detract from your least favorite features and put your best face forward. i want to know about the dark circles. >> we all have them on the morning show. >> and we have a match made in dinner heaven, cider-braised pork shoulder and apple salad. what's better for a cold winter night? >> does that remove dark circles? >> who cares? >> al has a check of the forecast. >> let's check it out. for today we are looking at plentye in the east. although rain will move in later this evening. into the mid atlantic states. some heavy rain as we get further south. sunny skies, pacific northwest. showers and thunderstorms. down through practice. tomorrow windy in the northeast with lake-effect snow. sunny and cold with pacific northwest. frigid in the plains. chilly all the way down to

texas. it will be partly cloudy and mild down in florida. that's what is going on around the country. here is what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> good morning. temperatures now beginning to warm up as clouds are increasing from the south. we are generally above freezing most of the area. reagan national now is at 37. and we do have precipitation getting closer to us. radar showing that area of green at light rain now coming into stafford county from the south and into southern fauquier, culpeper, rappahannock. there may a few of the deeper valleys as well as shenandoah valley still bell freezing. there could be some icing there over the next hour or two. and then light rain into the metro area around noontime. continuing and during t and that's your latest weather. >> al, thank you. coming up, what are your kids watching? the debate over decency in television, right after this. [ male announcer ] how smart can a smartphone be? well this one knows the meaning of life. oh, what's the meaning of life you ask? keep your friends close... and the way to discover the best balsamic strawberry ice cream even closer.

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back now with the debate over decency being taken up by the u.s. supreme court. the major networks including nbc are challenging the s.e.c.'s policy of hitting them with big fines for broadcasting bad language and nudity. nbc's justice correspondent pete williams has more on this. good morning. >> reporter: natalie, good morning to you. this may be surprising but most of the television programs that come into american homes are un regulated including what's on

the cable networks and the internet. but the fcc does police what's shown by traditional broadcasters and they claim the rule no longer makes sense. when abc stations briefly showed parts of a nude woman in a 2003 episode of the police drama "nypd blue" the fcc slapped them and the network with a huge fine. the government started punishing broadcasters for letting even a single four-letter word slip by during live shows. >> it was really, really [ bleep ] brilliant. really, really great. [ laughter ] >> reporter: it's been more aggressive in patrolling for the fleeting expletives like this one from cher. >> i have had critics in the last 40 years saying i was on my way out every year. right. so [ bleep ] you. >> reporter: from another awards show nicole richie.

>> have you ever tried to get cat [ bleep ] out of a prada purse? it's not so [ bleep ] simple. >> reporter: cbs and the government are still fighting over a fine after the janet jackson wardrobe malfunction at the 2004 super bowl. the government and its defenders say the indecency rules are justified because broadcast tv reaches so many homes that are so easy for children to watch. >> people believe network television should be cleaner than cable and they make choices in that regard. >> reporter: but the networks including nbc say those assumptions about broadcasting's unique reach are no longer true with such an explosion of other choices. they say treating them differently violates their rights of free expression. >> the time has come to treat broadcast tv on an equal footing with the rest of media. the same first amendment rights out to apply. >> reporter: some members of the supreme court seem sympathetic, the networks can't tell what's indecent and what isn't. ruth bader ginsburg noted the

fcc allowed the broadcasts of "saving private ryan" and "schindler's list," both which include nudity and profanity. judging from tuesday's argument here the court doesn't seem likely to stop the fcc's policing of broadcasters, but it may require clearer rules from now on about what's allowed into the home. natalie? >> pete, are you wearing pants? >> reporter: two pair! >> i was going to ask you, pete. >> he hn't hasn't answered. >> up next, how do you transition from that? the art of distraction. makeup tips to hide your flaws. right after this.

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♪ i'm gonna be a beauty >> this morning on today's beauty, the power of distraction. we all have issues that make us feel not so beautiful sometimes. that does not mean there is nothing you can do about them. celebrity makeup artist mally is here to talk about drawing attention to the things we love. good morning, you gorgeous thing. >> you have nothing to distract

from. >> dark circles! these are semi permanent things we can tweak. >> absolutely. everybody needs help to put your best face forward. go out there and take over the world. here we've got a beautiful girl with a beautiful set of glasses. >> before we start with alex i have her before picture. >> there she is! >> as you mentioned, mally, she is beautiful. how do you distract from glasses? >> we want to distract but also own it. like, that's right, girl, i'm going to show you how to work it. >> what do we do? >> make sure you line your eyes. we took a great black eye liner on the upper lash line. we opened up the eyes by taking a plum on the bottom. >> under the liner? >> exactly. that opens up the eyes and gives you a little bit of color to distract. also, too, if you find your lashes are really hitting your glasses because they are long focus on the bottom lashes.

use a great mascara to open up the bottom, two coats. here's the great thing -- >> you won't look like you have spider eyes? >> absolutely not. here's another secret. a little bit of highlighter is a great friend. that's going to not only open up the entire eye area, it will lift the face, make the glasses the widest part and really slim down. >> side by side. before and after real quick again? well, i guess not. >> no, we're not. look how beautiful she is! hooray! >> covering up gray hair. this is cindy. i don't see gray hair. >> well, she's got a little gray hair right up here in the front. a little bit of gray hair right there. but, again, this is about giving you great face so you don't notice all the gray going on. >> what do we do? >> the number one secret is blush. that's my number one secret to

looking ten years younger. a great pop of blush on the apples of the cheeks lifts the face, makes you look fresher. another thing is transluscent powder is the enemy. it makes you look dry, ashy and brings out the gray. use something like my face defender which is the first ever in the world clear powder. it sets your makeup but you don't get the ashy transluscent powder. >> i love that you are focused on the face. i thought you would have something for the hair. >> no, baby. it's all about the beautiful face. >> moving on. we have joyce with braces. >> she's working the braces, honey. this is my thing. yes, we're going to distract by showing you a great-looking eye. truthfully, if you have braces, honey, own it. >> you do because you're probably still paying for them. what do you do?

>> number one, it's all about the eyes, lashes. do a soft smoky eye to really make the eye pop. make it about the upper eye area. another great secret is if you are going to have braces, own it. go for a great pop of color on the lips. big glossy lips. make sure you use a great lip oba balm. >> exfoliate so the color pops the right way. >> great color and look how gorgeous she is. >> do you avoid bright colors? >> no. as a matter of fact, we actually added a bright color here. again, it really owns it. you really show how beautiful you are and that you're not afraid to say, i've got tom braces. this is what i'm doing. look how gorgeous you are. >> last but not least, dark circles. a lot of people relate. this is alia. you see a little bit. what causes this, mally? >> it could be lack of hydration, lack of sleep,

heredity. there are lots of reasons for dark undereye circles. it's all about the power of distraction. use a great concealer. obviously that's the way to go. not only do you want to put it under the eyes, make sure you get right in here, the little dark caves that everybody has. also another quick secret, the outer corners of the eyes where we tend to get dark, make sure you put concealer there and one final trick, again, about highlighting. highlighting is about bringing luminosity to the eye area. put it over the lid around the corner. hit the cheekbones. again that's going to brighten up your eye area. dark circles, be gone! >> i love that you just didn't focus on the undereye. you highlighted all around. >> highlight, lift and all of the sudden you got eight hours of sleep. >> ladies, you look amazing. mally, thank you so much. up next, a warm winter pairing -- braised pork and apples in today's kitchen. first, this is "today" on nbc.

this morning in today's kitchen, what's for dinner? how about a warm winter meal for a cold january night? the chef from erickson lodge in park city, utah, is here to help us learn to make a braised pork shoulder. this is a dish you used to make in the kitchen for everybody? >> kind of a fun family meal. modified it. we're starting with great meat, pork shoulder, pork butt. you will see it in the store as a picnic roast. >> pretty economical. >> great price point and fun and easy to do. >> it comes with a fair amount of fat. >> we cleaned off a little bit of that. garlic salt, kosher salt, black pepper and nutmeg. >> so a rub? >> a little bit of a rub. so easy to do. >> just mix it together. >> give it a mix and -- put a

little on. i'll rub your butt there. [ laughter ] >> sorry about that. just the roast. >> wow. you went there quickly. spimt . >> it's early. >> normally it's me doing that. i like it. we rubbed the cut of meat. >> shoulder. >> you could have gone shoulder but "butt" was funnier. >> we're going to put it in a hot pan to sear on both sides. you have a little bit of flavor. >> apples, carrots and onions. really easy. >> right. once we have seared all the sides we'll saute it for a couple of minutes, add a few bay leaves and a little worcestershire sauce. >> you watch the three stooges?

i could never say it. >> we'll let it cook a few minutes. then the grand finale with a bit of cider. about five, six cups of cider and it's great this time of year. we'll give it a cover. if you don't have one of the big cast irons you can go ahead and use one of the slow cookers, the crock pot. >> it goes into the oven? >> about 260, 270 for four or five hours. it's going to come out in four, four and a half hours as a beautiful, beautiful roast. >> gorgeous: what's going on here? >> we have the liquids. we strained that and we'll thicken it with a little bit of slurry. >> what's that? >> corn starch. a little bit of cold water. if you will grab the whisk. >> right. >> you have to be at a boil to make this corn starch work. we'll add a little bit of that to make our gravy, our dipping,

if you will. we end up with cider gravy which is just brilliant. >> oh, look at that. we have a little side to go with it. >> you have to go healthy. so to go with your pork you have to have a healthy component. we have arugula. add a pinch of salt and pepper. i like to season our greens as we go. seasonal squash. this is just butternut and acorn. >> already cooked? >> a light blanching. any squash you find in the market. our ale les, we diced. add a little bit of sprite to keep them from turning brown. if you want to throw it in. >> okay. >> then we have the cranberry vinaigrette we made and the pumpkin seeds. did a quick toasting on the pumpkin seeds. this is the healthy part of the salad. you can do just the salad. this is great just as a side

dish for just about anything. >> and the colors -- >> oh, wow. >> wow. >> we finish up with the squash and cider-braised pork. >> very nice. >> not bad. coming off a rough day skiing, put it in before you go on the slopes and -- >> a little apres-ski. that's the life. >> that was great. any time you want to talk butt, we're ready. >> i'm here. >> being indecent again, al. >> he started it. >> it was me.

good morning, everyone. 9:57 is the time. wednesday, january 11, 2012. tom kierein has our forecast. >> good morning. clouds on the increase. temperatures are beginning to gradually warm up. most areas we are above freezing in the mid and upper 30s. precipitation getting closer to the metro area. getting into prince william county and fauquier. stafford, and few areas around

the shenandoah area. icing there. chilly rain from noontime in the metro area into this evening. could get heavy at times later on. maybe up to an inch and a half. by time interest ends predawn tomorrow, and then warmer tomorrow afternoon. danella, how is traffic? >> still seeing some delays traveling 66 right around nutley passing nutley, slow as you make your way towards the beltway. about 27 miles per hour, inner loop still jammed at robinson terminal. delays to continue to i-66. barbara, back to you. >> thank you. coming up on "news4 midday," what you need to know about generic drugs. when you should splurge on the main brand. we are also cooking curry. be sure to join us at 11:00.

from nbc news, this is "today" with kathie lee gifford and hoda kotb. live from studio 1a in and hoda kotb. live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hey, everybody, welcome, it's wines-day wednesday, january 11th and we're so glad you're with us today. hi, hodi. >> hi. >> we have a busy day. >> we sure do. >> we are going to see "sister act" with your good friend. >> we're going again. >> i missed it. >> you're going to love it. my dear friend cara lee carmela is in the role right now -- >> mother superior.

>> and cara lee is on our show today, singing our "everyone has a story." stick with that. amazing tribute to this incredible mother. so please stay tuned. don't just hang around for the cute puppies and cats. >> that's all we care about, because the contest is over, so stop trying to send in your pictures. >> it's too late. >> but anyway, we're going to start the voting tomorrow. >> right. >> and on the 16th, i think that's the date that we're going to announce the winner. here's the deal. the five winners -- >> oh, my. >> it may be pearl, we don't know. five winners come to new york, and they're going to be in a doggy fashion show. >> or -- >> kitty fashion show. >> or kitty fashion show. nice. i think that's a beautiful cat. >> oh, my gosh. >> oh. >> is that a little lab? >> that is so cute. >> how precious. or is that -- i don't know. >> i don't know. it's adorable. and -- okay. anyway. so the 16th is the announcement. flying you and your pet in for a fashion show. i guess we put clothes on the dogs and cats? >> that's what it usually means.

>> okay. >> apparently jaly leno can't find anyone else to tease. >> he's making fun of us again. >> he showed us probably certain appreciation for what we probably do best. >> according to "cosmos" magazine, women who drink a glass or two of red wine a day are 30% less likely to be overweight. additionally, women who drink four or more glasses of red wine a day are 30% more likely to host the fourth hour of the "today" show. >> oh. >> what about women who like a lot of white wine? >> yeah. >> what about those people? >> do a study on that. okay. what else? you know what's getting a lot of attention? we all know that russell brand and katy perry broke up. and i hate to see any marriage break up. i really -- it's tough to stay married in this world. i can't imagine two superstars at the sdpleen zenith of their careers making it work. apparently there is a youtube video of russell removing his wedding ring going viral.

>> six weeks before he filed for divorce and about to take a tour of college campuses. so take a look at this. >> this is going to be a week of revolution, a week of occupation, and more important, i'm going to learn first-hand about sororities. i'm just going to place this somewhere very, very safe for the next week. >> oh, he is a naughty boy. he gives you that -- that smile. >> you know what's funny? in the beginning when we saw him and didn't know him at all -- >> we were afraid of him. >> and then he wrote that book "my bookie wook" or something like that. >> which was an incredibly candid account of his years of drug abuse and sexual addiction. >> but he was so charming. >> but enough about frank. >> he was so charming and so -- >> we were really, really disarmed by him. you see it right there. >> yeah. >> but you also see danger, will robinson, you know? >> yes, be very careful. all right. so if you are oh -- >> you know what, hoda, give me

one sec. if this was six weeks before, he was the one who filed. she knew it was out there. >> or did it contribute to -- if you post, i don't know. who knows how many things each are posting. >> but if he's doing that sort of thing six weeks before they announced. >> it probably wasn't a surprise. good point. so if you guys have the show "anderson" on in your television market and it's syndicated so on everywhere in a different place. you and i taped it last friday. it's going to be on tonight -- >> or today, depending on what time -- >> today. all right. so we played this game to find out how much we knew about each other. he wanted to know if we were really and truly friends or if we were just making pretend up here on the set every day. >> or just drinking buddees. >> here we go. >> so kathie lee, we asked hoda to complete this sentences. my co host's best physical feature is her -- blank.

what do you think hoda said is your best physical feature? >> i have so few. >> give it. >> my breasts. >> yes. [ laughter ] >> she said rack. >> yes. >> that's what i thought she would say. i said your feet. >> yes, you did. >> and we also had a whole lot of fun with -- we won't say what it was, we don't want to spoil the surprises. but we asked if it you were co host for a rock star, who would she be? >> that was not funny. it wasn't funny. you'll judge later when you see it. >> you know, it isn't just jay-z and beyonce who are having babies. we have our own superstar baby here. >> curtis stone had a baby with his girlfriend, lindsay price, and he decided to show the baby off in "us" magazine and there it is. and curtis looks very happy. >> hudson price stone. >> 7 pounds, 9 ounces and lindsay wanted a natural birth and she ended up having an epidural. but she apparently -- this is a

little-known fact or detail that she pulled the baby out herself. they said. that's what happened. >> curtis usually pulls it out of the oven, but no in this case, it was the mother. >> if you've ever seen one of those episodes of the card kardashians, courtney about that. it was very disturbing. >> i can't take that stuff. lmplts ready. so a lot of couples -- congratulations. and curtis, just because you're on your way to being -- just because you have a baby, love you curtis, doesn't mean you can't come back and see your old friends who you basically dumped, okay? you're dead to us. >> we don't care about you. so a lot of superstars name their children these very odd, bizarre names. >> hudson stone is adorable. >> san francisco weekly came out with their list of the top. >> they like these or hate these? >> these are the odd ones. so the number five is jacob "danger" armstrong, the son of the guy from green day. >> middle name danger. >> danger. that's one.

number four is zuma nestia rock. that's the son of gwen stefani, zuma. number three is moon unit zappa, the daughter of frank sdwlapa, now 44. >> he startedmowgli.

the healthiest cities for men and women according to "men's health." for the top five for women, number five in terms of health, this is in terms of weight and all those kind of things, three is madison, wisconsin. two, san jose, california. and the healthiest city is raleigh, north carolina. >> beautiful city. isn't that where our megan is from?

>> yeah. >> top five for men, boise, idaho. san jose, california is four. plano, texas. i dated a guy from plano one time. yes, i did. his name was bubba. i'm telling the truth. number two is madison, wisconsin, for men and women. and burlington, vermont. >> a very healthy place. >> now, the worst -- also shares a couple, i think. worst for women is toledo, ohio. philadelphia, pennsylvania. detroit, michigan. memphis, tennessee and birmingham, alabama. >> and the worst for men is st. louis, missouri, detroit, michigan. philadelphia, p.a., and bermington, alabama which is different than burlington, vermont. and memphis, tennessee. so we were talking about "cosmos" magazine and it's always got juicy stuff in here. don't even -- can we say it? >> no. >> you can say it. >> no, i can't. dave, do you want to come over here and say it? >> he can't say it. anyway, they talk about awesome moves that men crave. these are the moves that men crave. >> not necessarily sexual.

>> apparently not -- >> i heard you. i heard you say it. i heard you say it. okay. >> we just couldn't believe it. we looked at the cover and went -- my gosh. >> all right. so spooning in bed is one of the things men crave. kissing in public. they like it when we link our arm through theirs when walking down the street. soaking in a bubble bath together. >> who wouldn't? >> and like exchanging cutesy text messages. >> they like pride of ownership. am i right, guys? when you guys are out in public, even if you've been -- no one is around -- >> first thing men are around. >> this is my woman. >> yeah, they do like that. >> it's cave man, it just goes way back. >> but here's this thing. the other thing. it says here, there's a move in this magazine that will tell you -- show you how to make your man forgive you. they say -- and you should do it. tilt your head so that you're gazing up, exposing your neck.

this is a sub missive posture that let's him know you genuinely understand you're wrong. at the same time, put your hand on his arm. a subtle touch will help him feel more accepting. >> see? >> it's working. >> he forgives you. who comes up with this stuff? marilyn merlot, it's wines-day wednesday. still to come up, laura prepond. >> up next, tune-up your members of the jury of tinseltown with the golden globes. we'll play "who knew". >> and cara lee caramelo will sing for us. first, these messages. and i quit smoking with chantix. knowing that i could smoke during the first week was really important to me. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix is proven to help people quit smoking. chantix reduced my urge to smoke -- and personally that's what i knew i needed. [ male announcer ] some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these,

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ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense. . . ♪ give me everything tonight it's tyke to play "who knew" our weekly trivia game. we thought we would get you ready with some tinseltown trivia. kathie lee is across the street with the crowd at the nbc experience store. [ cheers and applause ] and with me is senior year writer at "newsweek" magazine,

and expert on the stars. kat is going to hand out 100 bucks to hose no get the answers correct. and guess what those who don't get? dvd. >> lovely lady from levitytown, pennsylvania. which of the following films received six golden globe nominations this year. the help, war horse, bridesmaids or the artist? >> the help. [ buzzer ] >> oh! >> no, no, no. it's a good thing. it's an excellent thing. [ cheers and applause ] >> it looks like a great thing. so the correct answer here, "the artist." >> more nominations than any other movie. the golden globes are kind of like the iowa caucus. if you do well, you do well at the sags and oscars. and if "the artist" wins the oscar, it will be the first silent movie to win. >> do you think it's a front runner? >> yes, absolutely. it's say small movie if it hasn't been playing in your town

yet but will open nationwide. >> okay, back across to cathy. >> i sure hope this sweet girl from upstate new york doesn't know the answer. it's my lullaby album, stop it. who is the host of this year's golden globes? neil patrick harris, ricky gervais, billy crystal? >> ricky gervais. >> okay. you know what? he's got to have it. yes. >> all right. so ricky gervais. and this was a little bit of a controversial choice. >> his third year doing it. and the golden globes didn't used to have a host. he went after charlie sheen, bruce willis, the tourist, one of the nominated movies. the hollywood press hasn't happy with him, but he's back. >> and the same kind of show again. >> going after everyone. so stars beware. >> beautiful lady from jupiter, florida. who was the host, o hello. excuse me.

how many bottles of wine are estimat estimated to be poured at the golden globes and this is without me and hoda being there. >> 50, 275, 300 or 400. >> 400. >> at least 400. and this is a show where there is drinking. >> all night long. starts on the red carpet. that ends up being 2,500 glasses of wine. 9,000 glasses of champagne. that's why towards the end of the award show they're a little wobbly sometimes. >> we'll be watching closely. >> this sweet lady is from canton, ohio, where the nfl hall of fame is. and if you can go and visit frank's bust or come to my house and visit mine. here. the golden globes are famous for being the awards show with the biggest, what. dessert table, statue, gift bag or red carpet? >> red carpet. [ ding ] >> wow. surprised. >> the red carpet is bigger here at the globes? >> it is.

the globe's red carpet is 30,000 square feet. the oscar red carpet is 16,500 square feet. the reason is because the globes are held at the hill torngs which is a really big parking lot so it ends up being you of a red carpet and a u-shaped red carpet and people walk around and there's movies and tv and every celebrity in hollywood is invited. so you need the red carpet to accommodate them all. >> all right, back to you. >> all right. where are you from? >> new jersey. >> okay, new jersey. in 1998, which tv actress was famously in the bathroom when her name was called at the golden globes, jillian anderson, christine lahti, juliana margulies or lisa cued row. >> juliana margulies? >> oh, she is going to love everyone is a story. >> the correct answer there was christine lahti in the restroom. >> great moments. she wins for "chicago hope." they announce her name, robin williams goes up and does some improve. she comes out and says she was

flushing the toilet. so don't do that if you're a nominee. >> i remember that. >> nice gentleman from orlando, florida. who was the last actor or actress to win the two golden globes in the same year. kate winslet, leonardo dicaprio or george clooney? >> leonardo di cap rio. >> but he sure thought he was right, didn't they. >> the correct answer there, kate winslet. >> co star, she won for "revolutionary road," lead, and she won for "the reader." best supporting actress. two globes that year. >> this is going to be a good one. are you going this year? >> i'm going today. >> oh, you are! well, keep us posted. thanks. coming up next, those photos that make you say, what? right after this. ♪ here you go. i'm proud to be a healthcare professional with va. our work truly fulfills america's promise to take care of our veterans,

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>> you were kind enough to send us our fun photos which kept us busy the last few days and we're here for show and tell. >> that's right. let's get to them. our first photo is from d. gayman from edmond, oklahoma. maybe they should find a new way to abbreviate standardized. >> oh, an std test. >> can you imagine? >> oh, no. >> all right, good. >> our next photo was sent in by katie kauffman from southberry, connecticut. what do you suppose a humped zebra looks like? this is actually a sign for a speed bump. that's actually an indicator of a speed bump. >> that's what they call a humped zebra? >> yeah, which i don't understand at all. >> a speed bump, where an area a humped zebra goes crossing. that's it, and i'm sticking to it. that makes me happy to think of that. >> the third photo comes from liz ruiz. i have an appointment with dr.

acula. >> yeah. and a photo from sandy from pittsburgh, pennsylvania. shouldn't they post this sign at the bottom of the hill? look how happy she is. she is like i'm up here. >> that's the worst feeling, though, when you get off on the wrong lift and you discover that it's all like diamonds and -- >> i had to take my skis off once and slide down on my rump. >> you did? >> yeah, i was not going to ruin my knees or kill myself. so i slid down. we got applause from the overhead. jackie clinton from puerto rico sent us this next photo. maybe they aren't old enough to read quite yet. that was for a triathlon. there are kids behind there. and it says no swimming. >> underwater hazards. >> but let your children have a good time. >> they have swimming caps on, they'll be fine. >> underwater hazard, depends what it is. and finally, jc finley submitted this photo. >> oh, my god. is that like a storage area?

>> it was a construction staging area. but he had to pull over to take a picture. >> thank you. that's what it seems like sometimes, doesn't it? >> yes, it does. >> oh, my gosh. are they joking? >> all right. thank you. coming up next, we bring comedian chelsea handler stories to life. onthg has never changed: pele want to kw their taxeve been ne right. to hp,ou can get fre one--one tax advic if you have a question, just cal or dannline ch wi onef . eguare th all turbotax calculationare acce man: goturbotax.c.

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♪ we're back on this wines-day wednesday with more of today. actress laura prepon. she made her television debut in "that 70s show" the quintessential girl next door. you can toss that good girl image out the door. >> yeah, because she is in the new series with chelsea handler, and she plays chelsea. >> is there one we can show? i don't know. >> are you there, vodka? it's me, chelsea. i know i messed up, but if you let me out of this cell, i swear i'll turn my life around. >> hey, blondy. time to go home.

>> damn, you're good. >> and she is here with us today. big day for you, right? the show premiers tonight, is it? >> yes, 8:30. >> a lot of people have read the books and there obviously is a huge fan base for the books. if people have read the books and turn on the sitcom today, will they say oh, this is what i was expting? >> you'll definitely recognize a lot of the episodes are pulled directly from her books. and it's not just it's me chelsea, it's several of her books, actually. and yes, some are inspired by things that have happened to the writers. and but most of them are experiences from it chelsea's life. >> you say this is basically an updated version. an r-rated version, basically, of "cheers." >> because it's a sports bar. >> yeah, that's our key set piece, and it's cool, because i think people will feel comfortable every week, watching the characters in this bar, because i think it's a comfortable place to hang out. >> but your character is my worst nightmare for my daughter to grow up to be. sorry. >> no, i totally get that.

i totally get that. but, you know, it's -- it's funny, because you don't normally see a woman portraying and doing these things on a television show. >> like what? >> you know, like in the pilot, my character gets a dui, you know? >> well, that happened to khloe kardashian too, come on. >> yeah, but in terms of playing this character, it's like i'm portraying a role in her 20s going through these experiences, grabbing life by the horns and drinks and sleeps with men, exactly. she sleeps with men, does crazy things. >>in discriminately. >> right. but -- >> but? >> but the thing is, that's what girls do. and she has a ton of heart and she makes mistakes. and, you know, she's fearless and awesome. but she also is a real person and she is flawed. and i think that people can relate to her. >> now, did chelsea handler, was she one of the people who was instrumental in picking you for the show, because she plays the other character. >> she plays your sister. >> she plays my sister and she always says -- it's hard to pick

someone to play yourself. but when we first met, it was kind of this instant kind of chemistry thing where she was like, okay, this is great. this is it. and it was just one of those things where everything fell into place and it was kind of this perfect -- the stars aligned. >> and she is one of the executive producers as well. so she had a huge say in probably everything. >> totally. and, you know, it's great. it was just honestly a lot of fun. and you know, we do -- we are kind of racier than other shows, but i think audiences are returning, and they can kind of expect shows to push the boundaries. >> well, they are used to it from cable now. just not so much on the prime time. >> but if you're looking at that time "two and a half men" -- >> is there a double standard, laura, that it's okay for men -- sex jokes and penis jokes, and not the women with the other anatomy. >> that's what's cool about the fact that these female comedies have this amazing resurgence right now, is because i think that, you know, women do joke. and it's not like i am a woman, hear me roar type of moment.

but it's like women joke like that. and women do these things. and it's cool to portray a woman doing these things, because i think other people can relate to it. men and women. >> or a humped elephant. nothing is fun anywhere than that. we had that in the last episode. >> i saw that. >> zebra. >> even funnier. >> we wish you great luck with the show. >> thank you. and it's the premier -- it's called -- "are you there chelsea" at 8:30, 7:30 central here on nbc. >> up next, everyone has a story, and we have a very special singer. we'll be right back. ♪ ♪ suddenly clear in that moment nothing will ever be the same again ♪ [ male announcer ] what if we could keep enough plastic waste to cover all of manhattan out of landfills each year? the equivalent of 140 million trash bags, gone. by using new glad trash bags, designed with reinforcing bands

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her name is jamie moppin and it's her wonderful daughter betsy who introduced us. >> first, let's listen to bet betsy's letter honoring her beautiful mom. >> 53 years ago, my mom gave birth to my younger brother, george. george was born with severe birth defects.

basically, the doctors told her to take him home and let him die. but she refused to listen. she took him home and fed him his milk through an eyedropper until he was 6 months old. george went through 19 different surgeries with my mom right beside him while working full time. my parents separated when george was 9 years old. at that point, my mom became a single parent. she continued working full time while raising three children. but i never heard her complain. she had high expectations for george. he was one of the first disabled children to be in a regular education classroom. this is 1968, long before inclusion was accepted. my mom realized early on that george had a special gift. he was able to play the piano and organ by ear. just by hearing a song, he would go to the piano and play it with his left hand. his right hand was affected by his birth defect, so he was unable to use it.

gradually, george's health deteriorated, and he was declared legally blind. he stumbled around the house, falling and running into walls. again, my mom never complained. she constantly bragged on george, telling him he was such a good son. she made sure his every need was met. george had an amazing life and was very happy. sadly, he passed away in my mom's arms in october of 2011. my mom has centered her life around george for the past 53 years. her wants and desires have been sacrificed for her three children. she has always put her children first in her life. my mom is a wonderful role model. >> and betsy is here along with her mom. wow. what were you thinking when you saw those pictures there? >> just reminiscing about all those years. george was a ray of sunshine.

always happy. if he quit smiling and quit humming, then you knew something was wrong. but he never complained. >> what's great about you is back in the day when a doctor told you something, everyone usually just said thank you so much and went home and believed it. but you were -- you were unique. you weren't going to have any of that, were you? >> no. >> why not? >> after -- >> what was different about you? >> i put my trust in the lord. from george's first day here until his last day here. and the lord saw us through. >> he sauce sustained you. >> a lot of good prayers went up for us. >> and you can clearly see by looking at the pictures and watching the video, it didn't seem like a sacrifice at all. >> no. >> was it? >> no. >> it was just part of how you lived your life and how much you loved him, right? >> we never looked at it as a sacrifice. >> no, you can tell. >> you know, i would tell him, george, you're the nicest thing

god ever gave me. and he would just smile so big. the nicest son anybody could ever have. and he be grinning, until you couldn't see his eyes. >> and betsy was so jealous, i bet. wanted to take him out. how did you and your siblings feel about this? >> we always thought that george was normal. that's the way my mom taught us to do. treat him like he's normal and go on with life and that's what we've always done. >> and did your neighbors and kids at school come to know your family and understand george? >> yes. and, in fact, we had such wonderful neighbors growing up, he with go to their house for dinner every night. we didn't know where he was half the time. he would just be at one in the neighborhood. but everyone accepted him and loved him like they were his child. >> and all those surgeries he had to endure, that must have been difficult as a little boy, right? >> right. but even then, he never complained. >> he didn't. >> no. >> and getting him into -- you

said the schooling i thought was just really incredible. because, again, that was one of those things that there were a lot of hurdles. but not for you. why was it so important to make sure he was getting the right education? >> i thought of him as normal. and so i just enrolled him in the grammar school. the first year, it was probably in the third grade. the fourth year was much better. and then we went to cleveland in the fifth grade, and he just fit in. >> i'm sure he did. >> well, this is a very, very special day for us. not only are you all here, you wrote a beautiful letter, but my favorite leading world in musical theater is with us. the wonderful cara lee carmela from "sister act" and she is going to sing a special song that david friedman and i wrote for you, and for george who i know has a front-row seat right now. we'll be right back. ♪

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♪ ♪ everyone has a moment >> we are back with "everyone has a story," helping betsy gentry honor her wonderful mom. now it's time for you to hear the song that david friedman and i composed just for you. please welcome the amazing broadway cara lee caramelo singing "a mother's heart." ♪ ♪ not much they say is much stronger than steel ♪ ♪ its strength is awesome its power is real ♪ ♪ but i know something that right from the start is stronger than anything ♪ ♪ a mother's heart ♪ ♪ a doctor told her just let your son die ♪ ♪ he's not meant to live

and you're not to ask why ♪ ♪ but the mother refused to do as he said ♪ ♪ she took her son home and she tucked him in bed and loved him ♪ ♪ for 53 years ♪ ♪ a mother's heart beats deep in her soul ♪ ♪ who could imagine the suffering the toll ♪ ♪ can anything pierce the deepest part of a mother's love ♪ ♪ a mother's heart ♪ as her son grew he grew harder to lift ♪ ♪ but she realized he has been given a gift ♪ ♪ he loved his music and each song he'd hear

he'd sit at the piano and play it by ear ♪ ♪ and she loved that ♪ for 53 years ♪ ♪ yes a mother's heart burns deep in her soul ♪ ♪ who can imagine how it makes her whole ♪ ♪ to truly live that special joy in one mother's heart for one special boy ♪ ♪ ♪ is there some piece of priceless art more precious than a mother's heart ♪ ♪ ♪ not much they say is much harder than this to bury your child

to kiss your last kiss ♪ ♪ but she knows deep inside he was meant to live ♪ ♪ she was meant to love him give all she could give ♪ ♪ and she did that for 53 years ♪ ♪ ♪ through the heartbreaks and the heart aches and the fears ♪ ♪ she did her part and right from the start she loved him ♪ ♪ with a mother's heart ♪ >> yes! >> gorgeous, cara lee. >> perfect. >> come on over and join us. we'll be back with more of "today" on nbc.

>> i'm a wreck. ♪

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and we're back with "everyone has a story" and of course a very special woman. >> cara lee just performed "a mother's heart" for john any and honored by her daughter betsy. and our accompanyist david wild who is wild. >> he is. >> so what did you think? >> it was beautiful. amazing. perfect. sounded just like my mom, the whole song. thank you for writing it. >> you sing that well? [ laughter ] >> cara lee, you were a home run. she just really owe every time, right? >> every, every time. >> now, we have some parting gifts for our friends, don't we? >> we like to give a couple surprises out. we wanted someone to take care of you two for a change so blackberry farm in tennessee donated a weekend for two, you get meals, facials, massages. that way you don't have to get on a plane, you can giddyup and

go. and it's going to be a fun little -- a thing for the two of you. >> that's what we wanted, a spa treatment for your mom. >> she deserves that. are you going to enjoy that? >> thank you so much. yes. i will. >> you know, i want to explain to everybody how we come to the understanding of which letter we're going to pick. everybody's story is amazing. and we wish we could do it all of the time, but it's the letter itself which grabs our attention, right, dave? and our producers. and so tell us your story in the most poetic way you can. give us a phrase that's going to lead to a beautiful lyric that we can -- and make sure that it's a true story. >> don't make it up. >> because we don't want to get in trouble, okay? >> we are going to "sister act" today anda cara lee. >> i better warm up. >> and david friedman is on the way to -- >> tampa. to do my thought exchange speaking and i have a documentary coming out march

15th. >> show-off. >> very busy. >> thanks again, jonni and betsy. >> got bless you. >> thank you for sharing your story. tomorrow we're going to get your resolutions back on track. >> have an awesome wines-day. your resolutions back on track. >> have an awesome wines-day. god bless you. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com